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May
19, 2005
Pharmaceutical
&
Energy
Pharmaceutical
Biotechnology and Drugs
Generex Biotechnology Corporation (GNBT-NASDAQ)
We are very pleased to have made the
announcement that we have received approval to market Oral-lyn in South America. In
parallel track, we expect to start phase III clinical trials in Europe and Canada this
year. - Anna Gluskin
Energy
Oil and Gas Exploration
Aspen Exploration Corporation (ASPN-OTC: BB)
"The vision for 2004 was to
continually increase Aspens gas production, revenues, and share price, in addition
to drilling quality gas prospects. We have done that quite nicely. If you look at an Aspen
stock price-chart going back to April of 2004, we traded at 62 cents per share and today
we are currently trading at $2.75 per share, a
four-fold increase in 13 months. Aspens net daily production has increased from a
very minimal volume to over 1700 MCFPD (two thousand cubic feet of natural gas per day)
with Aspens gross operated production in excess of 8000 MCFPD. The most recent 10-Q
for the nine-month period ended 3/31/05 showed record results. For this period, we had revenues of approximately $3.138
million, an increase of 149%, as compared to the year earlier period, and net after tax
profit of $1.386 million, an increase of 530% from the year earlier period. Aspen reported earnings of 21 cents per diluted
share compared with earnings of 4 cents per diluted share for the prior year 9 month
period Net income before interest,
depletion, depreciation and taxes was $2.299 million, or 35 cents per share, compared to
$609,000, or 10cents per share for the prior 9 month period.-Bob Cohan
May 5, 2005
Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Products
Healthcare
Specialty Pharmaceuticals
The BioBalance Corporation (BBAL.PK)
This new knowledge about restoring microbial balance points to a new paradigm in GI
therapy, and PROBACTRIX is clearly a first mover in this market. Moreover, no harmful side
effects have ever been detected in any of the studies on PROBACTIX. - Dennis
ODonnell
Technology
Waste Reclaimation/Organic Material Processing
DDS Technologies USA Inc. (DDSU-OTC:OB)
The advantage our system is enormous because our competition, which is based on
chemical processes are which either very slow, very expensive or both. They have a
tendency in many cases to impact disadvantageously on the base material. For example,
materials today, which are micronized for the animal feed industry, exhibit a loss of
nutritional value relative to the base material. In our system, which operates at ambient
temperature and under negative pressure, we preserve and in many cases enhance the
nutritional value of the base material. That is a huge advantage. The material can be
processed much faster and cheaper than in a two-chemical process. - Spencer L.
Sterling
Technology
Electronic Instruments
Roctest Ltd. (RTT-TSX)
On the Roctest side, in the civil engineering sector, we have been in business
for more than 35 years with most of our originally installed products still working.
Therefore, we have a lot of experience in that market. We are quite innovative in
developing our products and supporting our customers doing installation and offering
maintenance services. We offer a total solution and that is unique to Roctest. One the
FISO side, we sell for over $6 million Canadian of optical sensors. That makes us the
largest manufacturer of optical sensors and the one with the most experience in
manufacturing those sensors in high volume. We have significant experience in the medical
and process control sectors. We understand our customers expectations and we support
them in the design phase. - Francois Cordeau
Consumer Products
Manufacturer of Tennis and Athletic Field Equipment, Netting for construction and Privacy
Screening, and Fabric Structures
BP International Inc. (BPIL-OTC: BB)
We have positioned ourselves to be a major player in the fabric structure
industry. Weve successfully survived very intense restructuring, weve taken
our knocks, weve paid our dues and we know exactly what we are doing. The primary
reason we went public was so that we could run with this industry as it enters the
enormous growth that we see coming. Consider this, and it will just blow your mind: you
are looking at playgrounds, bleachers and ball fields at schools, colleges, and parks all
over the country. Many states are requiring that facilities provide shade on their
playgrounds. This is an emerging market that just takes your breath away. - Larry
Ball
Healthcare
Biotechnology
MethylGene Inc. (MYG-TSX)
You are looking at a company that has renewable competencies. As we move drugs
into clinical trials, we can put that research team of biologists and medicinal chemists
onto a new project and move that forward; we are showing we can do that. We have two drugs
in cancer clinical trials as we speak and we have good partnerships. With the HDAC
opportunities outside of cancer, we have many possibilities available to us. -
Donald F. Corcoran
April 21, 2005
Consumer Cyclical, Technology, Telecommunications, Mining and Healthcare
Consumer Cyclical
Apparel/Accessories
The Leather Factory, Inc.
(TLF-AMEX)
Im proud to say that since 1997, weve paid off all bank debt, made
several crucial acquisitions including that of Tandy Leather Company in 2000, and opened
44 retail stores. Now we get to worry about what to do with all the cash were
putting in the bank. What a nice problem to have! - Shannon L. Greene
Technology
Auto Dealership Mgmt. Software
Quorum Information
Technologies Inc. (TSX V: QIS)
Think of the certification by GM U.S. as being the gate keeper for getting into the United
States. We had to get that accomplished so that we could grow extensively throughout the U.S.
marketplace. It is GMs way of telling their dealers that GM has worked with Quorum,
and the XSellerator system ties into GM systems on all of the proved integration points.
Therefore, now that thats accomplished, when we go into a GM dealership in the U.S.,
they can feel very comfortable that weve worked with General Motors, and as a
product, XSellerator meets all of the requirements set out by GM U.S. - Maury
Marks
Technology
Raptor Networks Technology, Inc. (RPTN.OB-OTC BB)
The vision when I joined Raptor Networks was to bring to market a breakthrough
technology: the worlds first truly distributed switch architecture. Much as
weve seen happen in computing, with the mainframe to P.C. evolution, the
implications of this on the networking market are very profound, not only on the
performance side but - more importantly - on the cost side. That got me very excited and
was my principal reason for joining Raptor more than a year ago. - Thomas M.
Wittenschlaeger
Technology
Battery Charging Technology
AccelRate Power Systems Inc. (APS-TSVX)
AccelRate has a revolutionary new patented battery charging technology, which allows
us to significantly reduce the time it takes to charge batteries. There are fast chargers
on the market but they would be considered opportunity chargers because they take
advantage of the batterys high initial acceptance of the charge but do not bring
batteries to a full state of charge. With AccelRate technology, we can fully charge a
battery without creating excess heat by reducing the internal resistance and doing it in
about 20% of the time. - Reimar Koch
Telecommunications
Wireless
Eller Industries, Inc. (ELRI-OTC: PK)
We are in a market that is going to grow by leaps and bounds. We are a relatively
small company at this point, but part of our advantage of being a small company now is
being able to change direction or implement new technology as we are going along, unlike
some of the larger companies where it takes a major shift to do something. We have a huge
marketplace in front of us that is underserved and we have a business model. We do not
have to implement every area. The connection specialists are in that area to do the
marketing and servicing so that they will have their own capital that they are deploying,
which means that I do not have to spend that money to grow quickly. We think that once
everything is running efficiently, that the margins will be high in this business. -
Ron Olson
Mining
Gold Exploration
Afcan Mining Corporation (AFK-TSX)
AFCAN is one of the leading companies in China. The Feasibility Study coming out has
been signed off by some of the best consultants in the mining industry and legal firms
like Baker and Mackenzie who have gone through every permit and license. AFCAN has
experienced people that have built mines before and found mines. We are a combination
exploration company going into production with a very experienced team that can make this
happen. - David G. Netherway
Healthcare
Biotechology
Resverlogix Corporation (RVX-TSX)
"The hard cold facts of it are that if we all ate better, exercised better, etc., a
good portion of the problem would not exist, but unfortunately that is not the human way.
Resverlogix is offering a small molecule that has low toxicity and few side-effects; we
feel that is probably the direction that most people would prefer to go." - Donald J.
McCaffrey
April 7, 2005
Financial, Healthcare, Technology and Communications Equipment
Financial
Insurance
Pethealth Inc. (TSXV: PTZ)
We launched in Canada, demonstrated in the U.S., and will be launching in April the
first dot.net online claims adjustment tool for clinics. Traditionally, pet insurance has
operated on a reimbursement basis. The vet presents you with a bill, say, for $1,700. You
pay the $1,700 and wait to be reimbursed by the insurer. Now, with PetCare, that claim can
be adjusted online at the clinic. I just have to pay the deductible and walk out the door
and that money shows up in the vets bank account in approximately 48 hours. This is
a value added in terms of relationship building for the clinic and the pet owner. It is a
value-added service that the vet can advertise to his clients and it makes our business
more efficient and makes the pet owners a lot happier. - Mark Warren
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (VAR-NYSE)
I have been with Varian for seventeen years coming up, and have seen a tremendous
amount of change and growth over that period. The most significant change is that Varian
has always been a great engineering company and a great hardware company. We invented the
same standing wave linear accelerator technology about forty years ago. We have been the
only company consistently in this market over that entire period. What has really changed
in the last ten to fifteen years is that we have transformed ourselves into, not only
being a great hardware company but also a great software and service company. Now, with
our latest technology towards image-guided radiation therapy, we are moving into becoming
an imaging company and putting imaging devices directly on the treatment machine. -
Elisha W. Finney
Technology
E-Waste
Adsero Corp. (ADSO-OTC:BB)
The public embraces the quality, remanufactured cartridge because it is great for
the environment and when it is equivalent to a new cartridge, it brings a savings because
we can offer these products to the marketplace for a 30-35% savings. We have proven this
at Teckn-o-Laser. Because we have always focused on a quality product, we have been able
to grow this business by winning new customers all the time and keeping the customers that
we have, for the long-term. The market does embrace a remanufactured cartridge because it
represents a real value. - Yvon Leveille
Technology
Software
Datalink Corp. (DTLK-NASDAQ)
Companies are under tremendous pressure to keep up with rapidly growing data volumes
and maintain around-the-clock availability. Increasingly, the vitality of many companies
is tied to their information assets. As a result, many companies are in search of robust
solutions that will provide them with more rapid data recovery in the event of an
unplanned disruption or disaster. At the same time, new regulatory compliance and
litigation support requirements are placing additional demands on many organizations,
resulting in the need for information life cycle management solutions. - Greg Meland
Technology
Healthcare Claims Processing
ClaimsNet.com Inc. (CLAI-OTC: BB)
We provide a bridge between the doctors offices, or the healthcare providers, and
healthcare payers. We are a claims clearing house that allows electronic communication
between the parties for the submission of claims and the explanation of benefits. We are
removing paper from the relationship, providing for a much more accurate and complete
transmission of data. This allows everyone to gain from efficiencies, both in accounts
receivable and administrative cost. - Don Crosbie
Technology
Lifestyle Products
Digital Lifestyles Group, Inc. (DLFG-OTC:BB)
What we are doing with the hip-e node is not only delivering music to a consumer
device, but we are delivering television, movies, shopping. It is a multicast of
multimedia to a consumer device that is compelling. We maintain an ongoing relationship
with all of our customers. We make money when we sell the hardware on the front end but
then we also have downstream recurring revenue opportunities from those customers from
whom we never lose the relationship. That is a profound opportunity for us as it relates
to monetizing our customer base and building value. - Kent A. Savage
Technology
Semiconductors
Brillian Corporation (BRLC-NASDAQ)
The technology is very exciting. Here at Brillian we have the largest Liquid-Crystal-on-Silicon (LCoS) microdisplay
manufacturing facility in North America with 25,000 square feet of clean room. The company
has been manufacturing microdisplays for about five years. The technology is one that has
been difficult for many to master and Brillian is one of the few that has been able to do
that. - Vincent Sollitto, Jr.
Financial
Regional
Western Sierra Bancorp. (WSBA.NASDAQ)
"In the Sacramento region, we have been fortunate over the last ten years. We have
had an average of over 2.5% population growth rate and over 3% per year employment growth
rate. Amazingly, we have had retail sales of over nine percent a year. There is still a
demand for housing in Sacramento and it is still affordable. We find that companies from
the east bay still want to bring their business out here because of the lower rents and
employment is so much cheaper than trying to hire somebody in the bay area. One other nice
thing about the area is there is still a lot of land, so there is still potential for
growth. Rocklin, Folsom, Elk Grove, North Natomas, Yuba City, Modesto, Merced, and Turlock
are all areas of strong growth." - Gary Gall
Financial
Community Banks
MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc. (MCBI-NASDAQ)
In all of our banks, we staff ourselves with employees that can speak five different
languages, including Spanish. Depending on the location of the branch, we modify the
number of people that speak a certain language. This service is quite expensive, but we
are committed to it. The other thing that we are committed to is constantly having
communication sessions with incoming customers. For instance, if a customer is used to
paying cash, we facilitate a program so they can deposit their cash, transform that to a
CD, and then we extend them credit so they can start building a credit history. Some of
these programs are not for profit, and serve to help them build their foothold in this
country. - George M. Lee
Healthcare
ImmuCell Corporation (NASDAQ/ICCC)
We started working on a product called Mast Out in 2000. We are very excited and
fortunate that by the end of 2004, we brought the technology to a stage where it
interested Pfizer and they teamed up with us to take it further. With our Pfizer deal,
virtually overnight, the opportunity went from what ImmuCell had as a USFDA effort to a
worldwide global effort. Pfizers resources can help us expand the program to outside
of the US, principally Europe and other territories around the world. - Michael F.
Brigham
Communications Equipment
Wireless Mobile Data
Digital Dispatch Systems Inc. (DD-TSX)
We started with being focused on the taxi market, and I am pleased to say that we
now have achieved world leadership. We have a significant part of the American market,
which we estimate to be 75 and 80%. We probably have over 50% of the world taxi market.
From that point-of-view, I think we achieved our vision. Every company has been formed
over a long period. Later on during our life cycle in the company we changed the vision to
the idea that we didnt want all of our eggs in one basket, which was the taxi
market. We diversified into the roadside assistance and today we have places like the United
Kingdom. The Automobile Associations of the U.K., Belgium, Ireland, the United States and Canada;
they are all DDS customers. We have made a major saturation in that market and also in the
private transit and public transit market. - Vari Ghai
March 24, 2005
Healthcare, Basic Materials, Consumer Non Cyclical, Services, Mining, Technology,
Resources and Consumer Cyclical
Healthcare
Diagnostics
Grant Life Sciences, Inc. (GLIF OTC: BB)
I was retired for many years from being a CEO in biotech and when the opportunity
came to me to look at a novel patented technology that serves an unmet market of over 1.7
billion people, that was enough excitement to get me to come back to work again
Normally to check cervical cancer, women generally go for a Pap smear, which is considered
in the industry to be highly inaccurate. Currently, there is no simple test, where you can
just take the blood from a patient and determine by measuring antibodies in the blood
whether cervical cancer or cervical cancer pre-cursors are present. We have
developed what we believe is the first blood test that does this, and the initial data is
extremely compelling. - Stan Yakatan
Basic Materials
Paper and Paper Products
Potlatch Corp. (PCH-NYSE)
"The company was started in 1903 as a timberland owner and lumber company. Today we
have a million-and-a-half acre of timberland in three states in the United States that we
manage as one of our four business segments. The four segments include resource
(forestlands), wood products, pulp and paperboard and consumer tissue products. Our wood
products segment operates a number of structural lumber and panel manufacturing
operations; five lumber mills at present as well as a plywood mill and a particleboard
plant. We have a bleached pulp and a paperboard business, which produces bleached
paperboard for food and drug packaging at two locations. We also have a private label
consumer tissue business, which has two manufacturing plants and four converting
operations. We are the dominant producer of private label tissue in the western United
States. - S. Pendleton Siegel
Consumer Non Cyclical
Textiles Non Apparel
Bio-Warm Corporation (BOWC.OB)
"One facet of the company that I had not mentioned was the health benefits of our
product. Because we do dip it into carbon, the benefits that come out from the textiles is
that they emit an infrared ray out into the air, which the human body absorbs. The health
benefits of these rays are tremendous, for curing arthritis to better skin tone to working
your heart to losing weight. These have all been proven by the New England Journal of
Medicine and Health of all the health benefits of infrared technology. It seems like
everyday we are getting to know and establish a different field of business that we never
thought was possible. When we started to develop this textile, we could not imagine
electric blankets, bedding, heated floors, greenhouses, operating rooms, or car
seats." - John Park
Services
Real Estate Operations
Associated Estates Realty Corp. (AEC-NYSE)
The vision that I had in 1993 has changed to today where we operate in 12 states.
From a strategic standpoint, we will continue to lessen our dependence on our Midwest
assets by both selling some of our Midwest properties and acquiring properties in other
markets, such as Florida, metro D.C., and Atlanta. - Jeffrey I. Friedman
Mining
Minerals-Exploration
Panoro Minerals Ltd. (PML-TSXV)
The market for copper grows because of demand primarily coming out of China, and
India. A lot of the manufacturing is moving into these countries and there is a demand for
consumer goods developed within these countries that are fueling the demand for copper. China
has always been a huge importer of copper. New discoveries and new production capacity has
just not been able to keep pace with the increasing demand. That has worked to raise the
copper price from sixty-two to sixty-eight cents a couple of years ago, to the $1.40 range
that we are looking at now. - Helmut H. Wober, P.Eng. (Brit. Columbia)
Technology
Energy/Environment
Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services, Inc.
(WEE-TSX: V)
Wavefront has a unique technology, Pressure Pulsing, which we feel is very timely in
the todays current market in that it is proven to extract more oil out of the ground
at increased production rates. It is one of the few companies that I have been exposed to
that has a technology that is globally applicable and far-reaching that can be used in
other sectors such as in groundwater remediation. - D. Brad Patterson
Technology
PC Security
Com-Guard, Inc. (CGUD-OTC:BB)
Firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spy programs protect to a certain degree and do a
good job on known threats. However, new techniques that hackers develop daily are
constantly being introduced. New viruses, new penetration methods, and new spy-ware can
still be installed on a system without the users knowledge and vital data can be extracted
from the disc drive. What we have focused on is protecting data at the disc level, and we
do that by locking up the files, by hiding them, and then at the ultimate level of
protection, by encrypting them, so even if they were stolen or the computer itself was
stolen, the data would still be safeguarded from any access. We look at it from a data
standpoint and we protect it from the disc level up. Our software detects attempted
intrusions from the Internet or from a local person walking up to the keyboard and trying
to open a protected file or to load the file onto a floppy disk-drive and walking away
with it. We also log the event and send notifications of the activity to the legal owner.
If a camera in installed on the system, the ComputerSafe program can even send a
video clip of a physical intrusion. - Joe Sigismonti
Technology
Computer Services
Proginet Corporation (PRGF-OTCBB)
Proginet has initiated several new initiatives to contact our existing customer base who
give us high mark in terms of support and service, and cross-sell technologies that they
are currently not using. The combination of our low market-cap, the demand for security
products, our customer base and the fundamentals of being positive cash flow and
profitable, I believe to be very strong factors for anybody to consider in terms of
investing in Proginet." - Kevin M. Kelly
Consumer Cyclical
Auto and Truck Parts
Gabriel Technologies Corp. (GWLK-OTC: BB)
"From a security standpoint, most freight and goods have been shipped in un-locked
containers, or trucks. Most have been identified with what we call the indicative seal,
which is purely a seal that provides chain-of-custody and no or minimal security that
could be cut with a bolt cuter or scissors. Our product line provides real-time security
and deals with barrier locks and boxes that cover the hasp of trailers and makes it very
difficult to penetrate those containers on trucks or air cargo containers." - Keith
Feilmeier
Resources
Industrial Minerals
Electra Gold Ltd. (ELT-TSXV)
I think the sustainability is important and the fact that we have been in business
for a long time. We have signed a five-year contract with Ash Grove Cement Company, which
is the largest independent cement maker in North America. We probably will sign more
agreements with more large companies. We will be producing for a long time on projects. I
think we can ultimately do better and longer term business at the lead of our best years
in the gold business. Our best year may have been 1994 in the gold business when we did
thirty cents a share in earnings and we feel we can do better than that ultimately on a
basis of decade after decade. It is sustainable; it fits the needs of a changing political
environment where people are looking for sustainability rather than fast returns. I think
this company is going to be strong. - Doug Stelling
Healthcare
Industry
Draxis Health Inc. (DRAX-NASDAQ)
The fundamental message to the investors is that we are now a leader in two strong
growth markets. We now have a five-year track record of solid financial performance in
earnings growth, EBITDA and cash flow. We continue to have a strongly positive outlook. We
are not your usual small biotech company where there is always a potential for a home-run
but always the risk of striking out. This is a much more stable company that sits on a
solid core of business, yet has a pipeline of innovative products that could add
considerable value to a company that is growing in value even from its core
business. - Dr. Martin Barkin
March 10, 2005
Telecommunications, Financial, Industrial, Communications, Services and Technology
Telecommunications
Wireless Processing Solutions
ISCO International Inc. (ISO-AMEX)
"If your goal is to be a large growth, emerging company, clearly being in wireless is
the right space and a piece of this industry that is again starting to grow significantly
is infrastructure. It is exactly the right place to be in terms of a huge growing market.
From the perspective of the industry, it is consolidating. The cost structure of the
industry is such that it benefits from especially consolidating its physical assets in
terms of its real estate and tower space. I think the strategy with ISCO is the right one.
Our strategy is to support operators in a way that we call full integration transparency.
ISCO, having a unique RF competency, has created a value added portfolio of products
specifically focused on integrating disparate technologies within legacy cell sites. It is
an ideal segment to play." - John Thode
Financial
Banking
Franklin American Mortgage Company (Privately Held)
The market of 2004 was tough on the bottom line and on revenue and equity
return, but it did give some solid companies with good balance sheets the opportunity to
recruit. Recruiting in 2004 was positive and we look for 2005 to be just as strong. We
think we are going to do a good job of adding to our staff and finding some quality
talent. Acquiring solid people will give us more opportunity to grow our market
share. - Dan Crockett
Industrial
Filtration
CLARCOR Inc. (CLC-NYSE)
We have the products they want and need. Quality in todays world is a given
but our customers can always count on the fact that our quality is second-to-none. In
customer service, we pride ourselves in being able to fill an order within twenty-four
hours. One-stop-shopping is becoming much more important to many of our customers, so that
they can buy all of their filtration requirements from us. We think we have the best
distribution in the filter industry. There are thousands of distributors selling to
hundreds of thousands of customers. - Norman Johnson
Communications
Computer Services
theglobe.com (TGLO-OTC: BB)
Voiceglo
"I think that what readers should
remember about Voiceglo is that it is a global company and that in the midst; we actually
call it the fastest way to a working U.S. telephone number in the world. Someone
sitting in Paris, can log on to glophone.com and have a working U.S., New York City phone
number in less than three minutes. That is unparalleled anywhere in the world and no other
company can do that. There is no equipment required. All you need is an internet
connection, dial-up or broadband. That is the message it is a sort of instant global
telepathy. You dont have to wait between 12:00 and 5:00 for the phone guy to show
up; that is the message." - Edward A. Cespedes
Services
Communications Services
CallWave Inc. (CALL-NASDAQ)
"CallWave today is a voice application software provider. Through the evolution of a
VoIP technology layer, our platform now enables us to provide very rich, high value-added
software based applications for your phone calls; either wireless or traditional landline.
What that means is that regardless of where a call comes into you, whether it is on your
home phone, office line or cell phone, the VoIP technology enables CallWave to help you
screen and transfer those calls in real time. You are saving yourself time and money.
" - Jason Spievak
Services
Homebuilding
HouseRaising, Inc. (HRAI-OTC:BB)
I think the value package of the one-stop shopping coupled with the 15% savings is
the big appeal. We can do everything for the homebuyer starting with the house plan,
giving him a price, helping him to get financing and building the house out, in a way that
ends up saving you 15% or more. If you are building a $400 thousand house, that is a
savings of about sixty thousand dollars and that is meaningful to most people. -
Charles M. Skibo
Technology
Semiconductors
Ultra Clean Holdings Inc. (UCTT-NASDAQ)
We develop and manufacture customized subsystems similar to contract manufacturers
but with more design and engineering content. The subsystems that we manufacture are
primarily gas panels, but recently we have expanded into other modules, such as frame
assemblies, liquid delivery subsystems and process modules for our customers. Our founding
was in 1991 and we have benefited dramatically from the trend toward outsourcing in the
semiconductor, capital equipment industry. - Clarence Granger
Technology
Security, Communications & Compliance
eLinear, Inc. (ELU-AMEX)
"We have taken and built specific practices within our company that we believe will
take care of our shareholders and grow the company. The first of those practices is
security. We believe that security and compliance related security technologies will lead
corporate spending. Second is our IP practice, which includes IP networks as well as Voice
Over IP. The convergence of voice, data and video networks has created a lot of
opportunity. We are already viewed as a leading player in our primary markets. Also, in
our Core IT practice, we are doing a great number of interesting things with core
technologies around Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), the Sun product line and
specifically storage. Our last practice is physical infrastructure, which is focused on
securing premises. We are doing a lot for things related to CCTV and secure card access
and those kinds of technology-based physical and security products." - Michael Lewis
Technology
Digital Signal Processing
Lyrtech Inc. (LYT-TSXV)
"When I arrived, Lyrtech was in tremendous financial difficulties, they were
basically in technical financial bankruptcy. So what we did was change the business model
and financial structure of the company and financed it. We then hired a sales team,
because the company didn't have a sales team for the past twenty years; it was engineers
selling to other engineers. We hired the sales team back in 2003 and began to see growth
in 2004, since we were now focusing on marketing and sales instead of just trying to find
the next super technology. We changed from an R&D, engineering company to a marketing
and selling company." - Miguel Caron
February 24, 2005
Energy, Financial, Communications, Healthcare, Utilities,
Telecommunications & Services
Energy
Oil and Gas Exploration
Aspen Exploration Corporation (ASPN-OTC: BB)
"The vision for 2004 was to continually increase Aspens gas production,
revenues, and share price, in addition to drilling quality gas prospects. We have done
that quite nicely. If you look at an Aspen stock price chart going back to April of 2004,
we traded at 62 cents per share and today we are currently at a twenty-five year high of
$3.00, a five-fold increase in 10 months. Aspens net daily production has increased
from a very minimal volume to over 2,000 MCFPD (two thousand cubic feet of natural gas per
day) with Aspens gross operated production in excess of 10,000 MCFPD. The most
recent 10-Q for the six-month period ending 12/31/04 showed record results. For this
period, we had revenues of approximately $2 million, which is a 140% increase over the
same prior year period." - Bob Cohan
Energy
Coal
Compliance Energy Corporation (TSXV-CEC)
We are a small growth orientated company with little overhead. We have managed to
put together an extremely experienced and strong team with an entrepreneurial approach. We
do have extensive open pit mining experience and many years of successful operation within
the group. - JC. ( Jim) ORourke, P. Eng.
Financial
Community Banks
Cooperative Bankshares, Inc. (COOP-NASDAQ)
"Cooperative Bankshares is a
conservative, long-term financial institution in one of the most rapidly growing markets
in the country. It is the largest local bank in that market and we will continue to grow
the bank in a responsible manner." - Frederick Willetts, III
Communications
Publishing
EP Global Communications, Inc. EPGL.OB
Our plan is to develop the core franchise further. Sadly, disabilities are not
confined to our shores. Information that we publish is information that is relevant all
over the world. Our mission is to provide and facilitate the interaction of scientists,
physicians, researchers and teachers, together with families. In that way, when everybody
is working together, you can affect positive outcomes. Our plans are to expand our
franchise internationally by developing licensing arrangements with countries that show
interest. We have had some contacts with people in Australia, New Zealand, England and
Italy. Our plans are possibly to acquire some entities that round out our business
franchise or at least embark upon some strategic initiative with them. We are also looking
to expand the franchise that we created five years ago called The World Congress and
Exposition on Disabilities. - Joseph M. Valenzano, Jr.
Healthcare
Pharmaceuticals
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PVCT-OTC:BB)
"Our very first compound is an old drug or old compound, which was abandoned for use
years ago and we screened for it. The FDA has already approved it for IV injections and
use in the eyes, so that hurdle is already over. The quality control tests to release it
are done, the stability tests are done. All we have to do is go to the FDA in the clinical
trial process and say we are going to use this drug for something different. We are
working with in two different areas. In oncology, we have just had and IND allowed for
doing breast cancer and melanoma. After that, we will add liver cancer. We just signed a
contract with Clinimetrics, a global, full-service contract research firm that serves the
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries and started the process that
call for the first patients. We will have the Phase I studies, the first humans, starting
very shortly. Interestingly enough, the first Phase I study is not only a dose escalation
safety study, but we have been allowed to increase the dose up to efficacy levels, which
normally you dont get to until Phase II. We will get efficacy data in Phase I, so we
are already compressing the process." - H. Craig Dees, PhD
Utilities
Water Utility
Pure Cycle Corporation (PCYO-NASDAQ)
I have been with Pure Cycle for fifteen years and have structured most of the asset
acquisitions of the company. One of the things we always knew is we were acquiring a very
valuable asset. The difficulty was it was not so clear as to when those assets would begin
to monitize. We knew year-over-year our assets increased in value because we knew the
price of water in Denver and the State of Colorado continued to rise. If you look at tap
fees fifteen years ago, they were ranging around $2,500.00 a tap, now they are over
$12,500.00 a tap. We have seen tremendous increases in the value of our assets and our
shareholders have benefited. The company continues to maintain a fiduciary role in
managing the investment capital. It was inevitable that these assets would be monitized,
we just didnt know when and how that would happen. - Mark Harding
Telecommunications
Connectivity
Y-Tel International Inc. (YTLI-OTC: BB)
Our target is the international caller and the person that calls from outside the
U.S. and into the U.S. That is the part in telecommunications that has the greatest
potential for growth in the next two years. - Steve Lipman
Services
Real Estate Operations
Wilshire Enterprises Inc. (WOC-AMEX)
What attracted me to Wilshire is that historically this company was perceived as
under managed and therefore was undervalued by the capital markets. I thought those two
issues could be corrected by changing the management team and focusing on repositioning
some of the assets, and this gave us an opportunity to create shareholder value. -
Daniel C. Pryor
February 10, 2005
Financial, Technology,
Services & Basic Materials
Financial
Regional Banks
First State Bancorporation (FSNM-NASDAQ)
"We decided to do the stock split for a couple of reasons; first, we are always
looking for ways to increase the float and liquidity in our stock. Our stock price has
increased steadily over the past three years to a point where we felt that a stock split
was appropriate. We believe that over a period of time that the shares issued in the split
will help increase the activity in our stock. Also, concurrent with that, we increased our
cash dividend. We wanted to send the message that although our earnings were flat, in
terms of earnings per share from 2003 to 2004, that we have enough confidence in our
future results to be able to go ahead and increase the cash dividend at this point. We
wanted to send the message to the market that we have turned the corner in terms of what
we think our future performance is going to hold and we wanted to reward our shareholders
accordingly." - H. Patrick Dee
Financial
Regional Banks
Financial Institutions Group
FTN Midwest Research Securities Corp.
Analyst Interview Covering:
First State Bancorporation (FSNM-Nasdaq)
"First States New Mexico franchise is pretty much built out. It is probably
85% complete compared to the footprint they envision over the next thee to five years.
That is a lot different than being 30-40% built out like six or seven years ago." -
Peyton N. Green
"I have been covering First State Bancorporation since the late 2001. What
attracted us to the story is that they were a very effective grower in Albuquerque MSA
(Metropolitan Statistical Area), which went through a fair amount of M&A activity in
the 90's like very many metropolitan areas did. They saw huge turnover in the local
commercial banking franchises as they were swallowed up by other out-of-state
consolidators that were ultimately swallowed up by Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).
First Security is a good example of this. Several mergers gave First State the opportunity
to insert themselves as the commercial bank of choice on a local basis in Albuquerque and
more recently in Santa Fe." - Peyton N. Green
Financial
Community Bank
Mountain 1st Bank and Trust Company
(NC) (MOBT-OTC:BB)
"We hire people who are people persons. We expect our people to greet customers by
name. We design the offices to be warm, friendly and inviting. We have gourmet coffee
machines and we put everybody through coffee 101; you walk in, pick your flavor of coffee
and we make them coffee one-at-a-time as the customers come through. We have rocking
chairs on the front porch of some of our offices, we bake cookies for customers on Fridays
in several offices and we have self service coin counting machines. Regularly, we wear
business casual attire with logo shirts rather than coats and ties. Our customers have
told us this makes them feel more comfortable and at ease in our offices. All these things
have been put in place to make our the experience of entering one of our office favorable
and repeatable." - Greg Gibson
Technology
Scientific and Technical Instruments
Image Sensing Systems Incorporated (ISNS-NASDAQ)
"ISS is a technology based company with two strategic partners that provide leverage
in manufacturing, distribution and support as well as camera technology. We are a Company
focused in Traffic Management." - James Murdakes
Technology
Automated Currency Acceptance
Global Payment Technologies, Inc. (GPTX-NASDAQ)
"Given the suite of products at our disposal, GPT is well positioned as we seek to
regain our position of dominance in the industry." - Thomas Oliveri
Technology
Communications Equipment
Astrata Group Incorporated Inc. (OTCBB:ATTG)
"In the Homeland Security sector, probably the single biggest threat to the country
are containers entering the country, and that does not just apply to the US, but to most
countries. Currently containers entering busy ports are usually unchecked and therefore
represent a major breach in security. Astrata is developing a system to track these
containers from point of origin to point of arrival, to assure people that they have not
been tampered with and pose no threat. This is a big growth area in the tracking market,
and its where we are focusing our research & development at the moment." -
Anthony Harrison
Services
Real Estate Operations
Kite Realty Group Trust (KRG - NYSE)
"Weve grown substantially in the last five years in the real estate business
and we began to look at additional options in terms of the company going forward. We
looked at the capital structure of the company and what was best for making sure that the
company was around for another forty years. That was also the time that we began to look
at becoming a public company as an option. Of course a lot of things have to happen in
order for a company to go public; things you control and things you dont control. It
really aligned well for us and we were able to successfully go public this past summer in
August of 2004." - John Kite
Basic Materials
Minerals Exploration
Southern Rio Resources Ltd. (SNZ-TSXV)
"Many people in the industry, including myself, have operated worldwide through the
nineties when the industry opened up so much. We are aware of the risk/reward rate ratio
in many parts of the world and certainly operating in Canada, the risk aspect is quite
low; both the political and physical risk is low. That makes it a very good place to
explore and that is a large part why we focus on North America and Canada. We know what
the ground rules are and how to deal with the authorities and we know what the regulations
and the system is all about." - Lindsay R. Bottomer
Financial
Regional Banks
Ohio Legacy Corp. (OLCB-NASDAQ)
"What investors ought to know is that our Board of Directors owns approximately 37%
to 40% of the stock. They have made a commitment to Ohio Legacy Corp. to provide value to
the shareholders and they are committed to that process. In that commitment, there is the
building of the franchise value. We are not interested in just growing for growths sake,
but we are interested in building a franchise that has value in the future and that goes
hand in hand with building an institution." - L. Dwight Douce
January 27, 2005
Metals, Technology & Services
Metals
Exploration
Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc.(CGP-TSXV)
"What sets us apart is our emphasis on process. We have excellent projects but,
more importantly, we have demonstrated that we have the ability to generate new projects
and bring them to the stage where they can be funded by joint ventures. That is very
important because it is not just the projects that we have right now, but our ability to
continue to generate and joint venture projects that is important to our shareholders.. We
have demonstrated that we have staying power and we are sustainable. We have demonstrated
that we have excellent technical and management expertise. We also have a highly qualified
board of directors of very well respected people. For all those reasons, we think we have
a good story for people who are interested in investing in mineral exploration." -
Glen H. McKay
Technology
Computer Hardware
CSP Inc. (CSPI-NASDAQ)
"CSPI is now focused not only on our defense business, but we have a very large
business focused on integration solutions for complex IT environments where we provide
consulting services for network management, storage systems and network security along
with hardware and software from leading industry suppliers. The company has changed
dramatically over the last eight years." - Alexander Lupinetti
Technology
Electronic Instruments and Controls
Aura Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: Aura)
"The company has worked with the military since the AuraGen® was first
introduced. It was clear that this was a very applicable use of the device. The company
has much history with the military and the government in its development stage, and there
has been a lot of testing done by the Army. Currently the AuraGen® is being purchased by
the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Army. It is being looked at by the Marine Corp. We have
been able to successfully demonstrate feasibility and functionality for the many uses the
government and military have for the device." - Raymond Yu
Services
Communications Services
IceWEB, Inc. (ICEW OTC: BB)
"Id like to finish off by saying that over the last twenty-four months
weve somehow on a shoestring budget been able to keep expenses in line and without
diluting the stock weve been able to integrate five companies. That is attributable
not to me, but to our world class management team that is really poised for success in the
future." - John Signorello
January 13, 2005
Technology, Healthcare, &
Utilities
Technology
Auto Dealership Mgmt. Software
Quorum Information Technologies Inc. (TSX V: QIS)
Everyone told us that we only have one opportunity to move into the U.S., and when
we take it to be sure we are ready for it. We spent a lot of time with consultants from
the U.S coming up to look at our software end-to-end. The response we got was that this
package is ready to go. We had the software package ready, and we had our integration with
GM U.S. ready, so that is the big reason for the launch. We are getting a big push from
General Motors in Detroit to get down south of the border. We have shown our software at
some very high levels within GM U.S. and there is an enormous amount of excitement around
our software and an enormous amount of excitement in Quorums ability to build new
integration points with GM US, like we have done in Canada. We are now putting the plan in
place to get our software rolled-out on a massive scale. - Maury Marks
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Avitar, Inc. (AVR-AMEX)
Multiple blue-chip corporation are using our products, big companies and little
companies, across many different industries. Recognition of Avitar is growing.
Furthermore, the government is in the process of establishing standards for oral fluid.
Lastly there is a lot of independent documentation that collaborates that oral fluid is a
superior, effective test medium, and sometimes even better than urine. I think we are
right at the tipping point. - Peter Phildius
Healthcare
Biotechnology
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD-NASDAQ)
We have five programs in clinical and pre-clinical development and three of them are
owned entirely by ACADIA; the three internal programs deal with major unmet medical needs
in schizophrenia and Parkinsons disease. The two other programs are in collaboration
with Allergan, Inc. One of these programs is targeting neuropathic pain and the other is
targeting glaucoma. - Uli Hacksell, Ph.D.
Utilities
Natural Gas Utilities
South Jersey Industries (SJI-NYSE)
We
argue that there are not many companies similar to ours. There are clearly not many
utilities performing at the level SJI is and we have more opportunity in front of us. We
offer the stability of a utility business, with a growth premium that is almost double
what it is in the utility sector. Our deregulated side is not typical in the utility
business. Most non-utility businesses at other companies have never generated a profit.
Interestingly, we find that are business model is more and more fashionable with each year
that passes. - Edward
J. Graham
Technology
Electronic Instruments & Controls
Spectrum Signal Processing Inc. (SSPI - NASDAQ)
I think that we are an interesting investment proposition because of our
business model: we are fiscally conservative, which really limits the downside risks for
the company and at the same time we are engaged in many activities with very attractive
long-term growth potential. We therefore combine limited down side with solid financials
and add the optionality of exciting growth. I think that is a very interesting formula for
somebody who wants to invest and stay loyal to the company. - Pascal Spothelfer
December 30, 2004
Financial, Entertainment,
Technology, Electronic Tech & Energy
Financial
Community Banks
Long Island Financial Corp. (LICB-NASDAQ)
Primarily it is service that separates us from the other banks. We have the luxury
of doing pretty much what we want to do for a customer. We have products that we can
streamline to a customers needs; we can do what we want for a customer. We have been
very progressive with automation. We have just about any product that the money-centered
banks or super regional banks have. We provide personal service at the highest level; a
person always answers the phone during the business day. - Douglas Manditch
Entertainment
Video Games
Infinium Labs, Inc. (IFLB OTC: BB)
Given the large number of households today that now have broadband Internet access,
I realized that the timing was right to deliver an affordable online video game service
that offers a wide breath of games and will allow consumers to purchase virtually any
game, anytime, from the convenience of their living room. - Tim Roberts
Services
Sports and Entertainment Marketing
Idea Sports Entertainment Group Inc. (ISPO.OB)
I think of our company as a think-tank operation because we get thinking and create
unique things of which nobody has conceived. We are able, within a short period-of-time,
to turn an asset into a finished product whether it is a screenplay or a product for
television. Our turn-around time is so short. Our people are amazed at what we do in the
time we do. - William Morris
Technology
Computer Services
SAVVIS Communications Corporation (SVVS-NASDAQ)
Because our services are all monthly-fee and usage based, you literally can have a
new business idea, have us set up the infrastructure for you, and try it out. Then if it
doesnt work, youre capital costs are minimal. Therefore, we also see our way
of running infrastructure as a way of enabling businesses to try out new business ideas in
a much more cost effective way, especially in areas where you have emerging technologies.
Hence, SAVVIS is also a very good provider for the kind of young businesses that have new
ideas and some venture backing; so they dont have to go out and spend a lot of their
venture cash on heavy hardware. - Rob McCormick
Technology
Wireless Communications Equipment
Stratex Networks, Inc. (STXN-Nasdaq)
Third, gross margin expansion, driven by the ramp of Eclipse, is a key element of
our investment story. Company gross margin in our September 2004 quarter reached 19.3
percent, more than 400 basis points higher than the previous quarter, and we projected a
further trend of expansion when we reported the September quarter. - Charles Kissner
Electronic Tech
Water
Megola Inc. (MGOA-OTC)
There has been a lot of skepticism in the past about physical water treatments
such as permanent magnets and other devices that really did not work as well, or well
enough to eliminate the competition. During the last five years we have broken down those
barriers and we have had engineers and big companies using our technology and our
equipment. We are now in a number of markets, but we started in the commercial business
doing restaurants and apartment buildings. We have done extremely well and have proven
that our technology itself is top-of-the-line. - Joel Gardner
Energy
Oil and Gas Exploration
Grand Petroleum Inc. (GPP-TSXV)
I think what investors should always look at is the track record of the team that is
out there. What we have shown over the last year is that we have been able to find
acquisitions less expensively. We have been able to drill and effectively find additional
production. We have shown we are able to handle growth and build the next leg of growth as
well as put together the next area that we are going to be chasing. We have shown we are
able to watch our costs and grow production. That is what you look for in an oil and gas
company. I think it is also helpful when you see that there is a strong and independent
board of directors. We have a board of directors that we are proud of. They are very
independent, actively involved and very well respected here in town. They have been a key
asset for us. - Andrew Hogg
December 16, 2004
Communications Services,
Technology, Healthcare & Services
Communications Services
WPCS International Incorporated (OTCBB: WPCS)
Our company is an engineering company that focuses on designing and building
wireless networks and specialty communications systems. The company provides these
services for enterprise customers, government entities and educational institutions.
- Andrew Hidalgo
Technology
EMF Solutions
Claremont Technologies Corp. (CTTG-OTC: BB)
Safe Cell Tab is a small tab that affixes to about eleven or twelve different
electrical apparatus such as cell phones, cordless phones, pagers, computers,
laptops, intercoms, and anything that has electromagnetic fields coming out in excess of
300 megahertz. The cordless phone has now gone to 2,400 megahertz from 900. Some of the
new cell phones are getting larger that 2000 and it goes on and on. According to the
scientific world, the products should not exceed about 30-60 megahertz to be safe for us.
There are products that dont meet those standards and along came Safe Cell Tab and
it has been independently tested in five different tests, two in the SAR rating system and
three in the American Society Testing of Materials system. We came out with a product that
eliminates radiation; it actually shields it from 99.996 to .998 percent, which is a nice
healthy, safe level. - Mr. Daniel J. Steer
Technology
e-knowledge
ISACSOFT Inc. (ISF-TSXV)
There have been a number of false starts in the e-learning market, where someone
says that they have some neat e-learning tools for you and it consists of a power point
presentation. Our solution is much more comprehensive; it deals with an artificial
intelligence based product, which provides real time feedback and is adjustable to the
pace of the individual learner. This can be delivered on-site or over the net. The
advantage is that anytime an administrator of training with needs or wants, real time on
the level of comprehension for the people being trained, this product is a real good fit
for that. - Vincent Salvati
Healthcare
Biotechnology and Drugs
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AOLS-OTC: BB)
We are right on the verge. We have convincing preclinical work done, showing that
these antioxidant mimetics work in multiple animal models. This is a new platform
technology; there are no drugs of this nature in human therapeutics today. AEOL 10150 has
now been carried through the required preclinical studies and has passed safety testing in
animals, leading to FDA approval for our first human trials. The major preclinical
hurdles have been solved and we are ready for safety and efficacy testing in humans.
- James Crapo, M.D.
Healthcare
Medical Products/Services
Sigma Global Corporation (OTC: SGGC)
The vision of the company is to establish an organization that enhances lives today
and tomorrow with respect to prescription medication and medical devices. Our company has
targeted uninsured Americans and seniors and is helping them to better manage their
chronic diseases and increase their patient compliance by making it easier for them to
access more affordable medications. Currently we are licensed in all fifty states and in
Puerto Rico. We have developed an integrated delivery chain of pharmaceutical products and
medical supplies at very cost-effective prices to help the uninsured Americans. -
Bryan M. Chance
Services
Schools
Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (NLCI) (NLCI-NASDAQ)
After our team was brought onboard, the first three things that we focused on were
strengthening our capital structure, bringing in a new banking relationship and building a
strong management team. It took the first eight months of my tenure to bring in capital,
strengthen our capital structure, and bring in a banking relationship. Our capital
structure is stable and strong. We have an excellent banking relationship and we have
significantly more financial flexibility now than we had fifteen months ago when I joined
the company. This was a turnaround and we are very satisfied with the progress that we are
making in moving the company towards being a very good performer in our industry. -
George H. Bernstein Jr.
December 2, 2004
Technology, Healthcare, Basic
Materials & Industrial Products
Technology
Software and Programming
Chordiant Software, Inc. (CHRD-NASDAQ)
We have an experienced management team with
members that have been here in many cases, since the get go, 7 years back. We have further
strengthened the team with some new key hires. If you look at our pedigree over the years;
many of us have experience in building high-growth software companies. The results for
investors should speak for themselves as Chordiant is taking an increasing share of a
multi-billion dollar marketplace with a new class of process based applications. - Stephen
Kelly
Healthcare
Biotechnology
Xenomics, Inc. (XNOM-OTC: BB)
When I heard about Xenomics, I drew an assignment to do a technology assessment and
my first thoughts were great, another genomics company, just what the world
needs. When I got here and looked under the hood at the engine and saw the breadth
and the depth of this technology, the one thing that was inescapable was that Xenomics
creates new markets that are today not molecular and those new markets are at least double
if not triple the size of the existing size of the market. - Dr. Randy White
Basic Materials
Chemical Manufacturing
CFC International, Inc. (CFCI - NASDAQ)
From a supply standpoint, we have redundancy in backup; each facility can do what
the other one does. Across the world we have our own technically-trained sales people; who
will go in as consultants and sales engineers and talk about the needs of a customer. In
fact, a lot of our product development is based on the needs of our customers. So our
sales people will work to cover those needs and come up with solutions for our product
development. If you add up those attributes youll find what sets us apart. -
Gregory Jehlik
Industrial Products
Advanced Power Electronics
Sustainable Energy Technologies (STG - TSX: V)
What investors should know is that the industry that we are in is growing at a much
faster pace than you would expect from just looking out your window. The growth in the
solar industry, is really exploding. In terms of where we are; number one, we have
patented technology, which gives us some very significant advantages in terms of cost,
reliability and efficiency, because we are probably the most efficient product on the
market. - Michael A. Carten
November 18, 2004
Technology, Industrial Machinery,
Services, Capital Goods & Financial
Technology
Scientific Technical Instruments
MFIC Corporation (MFIC-OTC) MMM
Our biggest customer base is in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. About
eighty percent of our sales are to those industries. We have made some progress in the
food industry in areas such as soymilk manufacturing and nutraceuticals. Soymilk
producers like our process because it produces a better product in terms of texture and
taste, as well as being able to incorporate much more of the soy fiber into the product.
That makes a better product as well as doing away with a large waste problem. We think we
are going to make some progress there. We are continuing to focus on biotech and
pharmaceuticals and to extend our reach further into that area. - Irwin Gruverman
Industrial Machinery
Oil & Gas
Genoil Inc. (GNO - TSXV)
There is a shortage of the light oil that you need to make gasoline and an abundance
of heavy and thats our market. We are coming in to provide a solution, to take that
heavy oil and make it light; then supply the shortage. In addition to which, the Saudi oil
that is coming out is heavy, but they probably have 7 or 8 million barrels a day of light
oil thats coming out of there and if it were disrupted it would be a severe blow to
the western economy. That blow could be practically settled by using a technology like
ours to convert the heavy oil into light, of those 13 million barrels a day of residual
oil. We could then replace the Saudi oil off the residual oil that is presently being used
as heavy oil for heating. The heavy oil would have to be replaced by clean burning coal,
which we have domestically, or nuclear power. So there is a means of achieving energy
independence from the Middle East, through our technology. - David K. Lifschultz
Services
Business Services
Ventiv Health Inc. (VTIV - NASDAQ)
Weve had a very busy year over 2004. Its been an incredibly strong year,
particularly in terms of winning new business. We have won new business worth roughly $160
to $170 million on an annualized basis. We have added 1,600 representatives to our sales
and marketing business; indeed a very large amount of new business on top of our base
business. This has allowed us to continue to grow strongly in our sales and marketing
business. In tandem with that we have also substantially broadened the footprint of the
organization in two ways. Organically weve added and introduced a number of new
offerings to our clients, leveraging existing capabilities of the organization, such as
introducing The Therapeutic Institute, Professional Development services, Recruiting
services and our Total Data Solutions services, among others. Secondly, weve also
made two acquisitions that have further broadened the footprint of the organization. In
June of this year (2004) we acquired the Franklin Group, a leading player in the
compliance arena as well as in patient assistance. Most recently in September (2004) we
announced the acquisition of Smith Hanley Corporation, a leading player in the outsourced
clinical staffing business and recruiting arena. This gives us a leadership position in
that part of the market, late stage clinical, just before commercialization. So,
weve grown very substantially both from an organic point of view and weve
further strengthened the organization with a couple of key acquisitions, enabling us to
further build out our market leadership position across multiple arenas. John
Emery, CFO
Capital Goods
Misc. Capital Goods
Met-Pro Corporation (MPR-NYSE)
As I mentioned earlier Met-Pros Divisions and Subsidiaries have hundreds of
years of combined experience with a broad and diverse customer base. We have an
organization with outstanding employees and superior products. Each Met-Pro Division
or Subsidiary offers field proven, time tested product or system solutions to meet a
customers needs on time and on budget. - Raymond De Hont
Financial
Savings and Loan
Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (GFED-NASDAQ)
Guaranty Bank has a ninety year history of providing mortgage services to the
southwest Missouri area. We are starting with a firm foundation and history and we are
refocusing our efforts to regain the position as the top provider of mortgage lending in
the area. We have recently added three seasoned professionals from competing organizations
to our staff. We have relocated and consolidated our mortgage staff and greatly improved
our efficiency. We have expanded our product line and we can serve just about any
need that an individual would have. We have a high service level and do a good reputation
for meeting customers needs. - Shaun Burke
November 4, 2004
Healthcare & Technology
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Corgentech Inc. (CGTK Nasdaq)
Our drug is in the final
development stage in two Phase III trials for a single indication of prevention of vein graft failure. Our
first trial is in leg surgery. Here the
vascular surgeon will use the greater saphenous vein to bypass clogged arteries in the
leg, for patients who have leg pain at rest. That trial is fully enrolled with 1,400
patients in over eighty centers in the United States and we expect the results of that
trial by the end of this year. The second trial is for cardiovascular arterial bypass
graft (CABG) surgery has also completely enrolled all 2400 patients treated in over a
hundred centers in the United States. The
data from that trial will be available in the first quarter of 2005. We have Fast Tack
designation from the FDA for both indications due to the high unmet medical need,
compelling pre-clinical data, excellent safety profile, and no other approved drugs. This designation could afford Corgentech a
shorter, six month, review cycle to approval. - Richard P. Powers
Technology
Digital Imaging Tools
CompuMed Inc. (CMPD-OTC: BB)
I believe the market for digital imaging tools is going to grow dramatically in the
next few years. Investors already know that filmless x-ray machines are a hot market, in
that hospitals are rapidly getting away from film. Any tools that are added to these
platforms are going to be natural winners. There is one aspect of our offering that people
miss- its not the product, the market or the intellectual property that is the
hidden jewel in the whole thing- it is the CPT code. Getting a CPT code is a three to five
year chore; it is very difficult. We have one dedicated to our technology, and it is a way
for the manufacturer to have a better sales tool, and that is going to drive them our way.
I feel that is going to become obvious to our investors very soon. - Jerry
McLaughlin
Technology
Software and hardware for on-demand solutions
Concurrent Computer Corporation (NASDAQ: CCUR)
Customers are coming to us for a variety of reasons. Concurrent has extensive VOD
deployment experience. Also, there are many unique requirements in each market, and we
have a lot of expertise integrating with those different devices and software
capabilities. We also have a unique architecture that we believe is leapfrogging our
competition; it allows us to separate streams, storage and content ingest, giving
operators the ability to independently scale streams and storage based on their
customers needs. No one else does that. - Steven Norton
Technology
Software and programming
Island Pacific (IPI-AMEX)
Island Pacific has a product called IPMS, which is a full merchandising ERP for mid-tier
retailers. It is one of the most prominent packages in the retail software sector. We
compared the applications or Island Pacific to the applications of Retail Technologies
International (RTI), and realized the two combined would result in a full multi-channel
offering for the mid-tier retailer. The merger was completed in early June of this year.
As one company, we are stronger because we have a complete offering for mid-tier retailers
-- from the store to the back office; the merchandising suite and direct sales, and
catalog marketing. RTI was a global business with customers in seventy-three countries and
products fully translated into fifteen languages. Island Pacific now has a ready-made
distribution to deliver its products globally. - Michael Tomczak
Technology
Contactless Smart Cards
On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV - Nasdaq)
OTI America (Subsidiary)
We are selling solutions that are based on our hardware and software. The
hardware consists of contactless cards, readers and the software consists of different
applications we provide. We have one of the strongest backgrounds today in terms of the
technology. We have a superior technology that is tested and proven with a low risk from
the customer prospective and we provide the customer with a complete solution and not just
a component. That eliminates much of the
effort from the customers side. We have the experience and the intellectual property
on how to implement contactless solutions in a real life environment. - Ohad Bashan
October 21, 2004
Energy, Healthcare, Technology,
Services & Business Services
Energy
Oil and Gas Operations
GeoResources Inc. (GEOI-NASDAQ)
We produce about thirty thousand barrels of oil a quarter. All of our oil is sold to
local crude oil buyers that are located in the Williston Basin, foothills and plains.
Because of the demand for oil, it is not hard to find a purchaser. We are not involved in
upstream operations or refining. We find and produce the oil and once we have it in tanks,
then crude oil buyers pick that up and purchase it from us. In the drilling segment, we
contract to other operators or others contract to us for the wells we drill and then drill
wells for operators under contract. That is a thirty day invoicing type of procedure much
like any other contract business. - Jeffrey Vickers
Healthcare
Infection-Control Products
ALDA Pharmaceuticals Corp. (APH-TSXV)
What was attractive to me about ALDA Pharmaceuticals was the fact that it had
platform technology called T36®. We have
a patent pending on that technology and it is a superior infection control technology. The
first product from that technology is called Viralex. It is a
surface disinfectant, which has been on the market for a couple of years now. We are
finding the product has an enthusiastic response from the customers, but the company was
virtually unknown outside our home province of British Columbia and Canada. Our task there
is very straightforward; we have to engage in a very effective sales and marketing effort
so that we increase our sales of that product. We are seeking expansion into the United
States; we have our EPA registration as pending any day now and that will probably take
120 days to review and if all goes well, we could be fully registered in the United States
within the year, in all states. That will bring a very large market potential to us as
well. What attracted me to it was the fact that there is a product on the market and we
have developed spin-offs from that product. - Terrance G. Owen
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Bio-Logic Systems Corp. (ALSC: NASDAQ)
Bio-Logic Systems is in an area where we typically have distinct advantages due to the
software and hardware technology that we offer, and we have exclusives in some of our
product lines which is very important. We have considerable experience in
electro-diagnostics across the board in both hearing and screening diagnostics and
neurology and sleep diagnostics. At least two out of three of those areas are growing at a
pretty decent rate, and we definitely have more growth potential and a high quality
balance sheet that investors are buying into. - Roderick G. Johnson
Technology
Nanotechnology
Arrowhead Research Corporation (ARWR & ARWRW)
We have over 180 patents and patents pending in the nanotech area, which provides us
protection for our products and an opportunity to license other people to use some of our
technology. Our plan is to expand our intellectual property base in the near future and to
accumulate as much intellectual property as we can. We are primarily working with Caltech
at this moment. Caltech is the birthplace of nanotechnology. Back in 1959, Richard Feynman
gave his famous speech called, There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom and that
was the starting point of nanotechnology. Caltech files more patents than any other
university in the United States. It is an active place and very prolific in producing
intellectual property. We plan to expand our model to additional universities but right
now our hands are full. - R. Bruce Stewart
Technology
Computer Services
Packeteer, Inc. (PKTR: NASD)
We are a company that is focused on application performance over the wide area
network and in giving our customers the ability to both improve and protect the
performance of their important applications and control non-business traffic. That is the
core of what we do. We provide distributed enterprises with visibility into what
applications are running on their network, and the ability to control them based on their
relative business importance. About a year ago, we added compression to create additional
virtual bandwidth, all with the goal of allowing companies to leverage faster WANs, faster
applications, and faster business. - Dave Côté
Services
CDK Services Ltd. (CDK-TSX: Venture)
The Companys patented Emission Eliminator chemical pump for natural gas wells
fills a timely market need and there are very real opportunities to significantly grow the
sales of the pump. I also believe that sales of the chemical pump are all upside since the
current market value of the company is supported by the existing businesses, which are
valve and BOP Sales and Service. - Wayne Thomson
Business Services
Computer Software and Processing
CSM Systems Corp. (CKX-TSXV)
We believe that the digital world is going to explode. Previously some of the
hardware costs have been such where it has been economically unfeasible for companies and
governments to start looking at this kind of technology. In the last year alone the prices
have fallen about 400% as demand grows. We believe that this type of technology is going
to replace what we typically see in retail environments. For example, it is going to be
more pervasive. We live in an information age and traditionally it has been based on
capital television technology. With the digital displays, it opens the door for a whole
realm of possibilities. That is what I think is exciting and enticing about the investment
end of things. We are poised to capitalize on it because we have the background in the
software end of things. - John Putters
October 7, 2004
Consumer Products,
Consumer/Cyclical, Basic Materials, Entertainment, Financial & Capital Goods
Consumer Products
Tobacco
Wellstone Filters, Inc. (WLSF OTC: BB)
We firmly believe that the cigarette market is going to be a commodity market; unlike
it has been in the last forty years, where people were very brand loyal. We feel that we
can make a return on investment even though we are offering a premium cigarette at a
discount price. People will buy our cigarette for the price and they will come back
because of the taste. - Learned J. Hand
*****WellstoneFiltersWR
Consumer/Cyclical
Personal, Household products
Female Health Company (FHCO-OTC-BB)
Unfortunately, the HIV/ AIDS issue is getting worse and it isnt going to go
away. There are drugs that help people live longer but there is no simple treatment
or cure. There is no preventative vaccine and some scientists think that if there ever is
one, it will be years away. We have one of only two products that help to prevent the
spread of HIV/AIDS, the female and the male condom, and ours is proprietary. We have a
business model that is low risk in that we do not invest in advertising in hope that
somebody will buy our product, or manufacture product in the hopes that we can sell it.
Beyond the break-even level, we should have a solid and profitable business. However, we
expect significant period to period variations, but substantial growth in the long
term. Mr. O. B. Parrish
Basic Materials
Gold
Goldcorp Inc. (GG-NYSE, G-TSX)
We have a very exciting expansion program going on at our Red Lake Mine, which will
take a little more than six months. By the second half of 2006, we will have completed an
elevator shaft that will be down 7,200 ft. below surface. It will allow us to increase our
production at our Red Lake Mine from 500,000 ounces a year to 700,000 ounces and allow us
to drop our cost of production below seventy dollars an ounce. It has a lot of extra
capacity built into it. We are excited about that new platform because it will allow us to
accelerate our new exploration. - Robert McEwen
Entertainment
Feature Film and Television Production
OBN Holdings, Inc. (OBNH.OB)
In July we recently completed producing a television special called From the
Heart, which is a 50th year anniversary and celebration of the Four Tops
singing group. Eclectic Entertainment is producing the concert and the television special.
In addition to the television special, which is going to premiere on Omni Broadcasting
Network, we are will be offering it to other networks that have already expressed an
interest in the special. We will also be selling it to television broadcasters in foreign
markets, which we already have interest from to acquire the rights to that particular
show. In addition to that, we will be producing a DVD and a CD that we are going to be
releasing on Retro Records, another OBN Holdings subsidiary. - Roger Neal Smith
Financial
Community Banks
Commonwealth National Bank (CWEA-OTCBB)
We hired highly experienced employees right from the beginning. We do not have
people who cannot make decisions. I have been in lending for thirty years and when someone
comes in for a loan, it does not take me very long to make a decision in terms of whether
or not we want to begin a relationship. In terms of the branches, they are empowered to
make a decision. If they need flexibility on an account, CD rate or whatever, they have
the authority to make the decision. It is not as if they have to go up two or three levels
of command to try and figure out whether they can take care of a particular
customers needs. I think what we have is a long-term commitment to grow and develop
relationships. We are willing to be flexible in the short run, if we think that in the
long term, it will benefit us and the customer. - Charles R. Valade
Financial
Consumer Financial Services
Silverado Financial Inc. (SLVO-OB)
For us at this point, all of our loans are straight broker and they are sold off to
investors, therefore we have no risk on repayment of those loans. As a direct lender, we
have some risk but it will only be the first payment risk and through the sure step
program on which we are working. We will not have any risk repurchase on those loans,
which is the biggest risk for a direct lender in this business. - John Hartman
Capital Goods
Construction Materials
Structures USA, Inc.
In the past six months we have moved into a full-scale factory type industrial park
and we are continuing on with code approvals for four different products. One is the
GigaCrete, which is the building system, anther is called Stuccomax, which is a
bullet-proof single-coat, one-application stucco, which has never been done before; we
have literally made history with it. It is applied very quickly and dries within a few
hours. The installer can then move on to the next, which typically they cant do;
they have to come back two to four times to re-coat the house. The essence behind the
whole business program is to build safer and faster with a superior product and then
extend that from the building side to the actual finishing that goes on in the structures.
Our goal is to go after mass affordable housing on a global basis, not just here in the
U.S. - Andrew Dennis
September 23, 2004
Services, Energy & Technology
Services
Service Retail
HearUSA, Inc. (EAR: AMEX)
This is very exciting for us because the administration wants to increase Medicare
Managed Care membership by 9 million people bringing the total to 13 million by January 1,
2007. Of the 4.5 million current Medicare Managed Care Members, we have capitation
contracts covering 600,000. This represents one third of the members with a hearing aid
benefit. Maintaining our percentage (13%) of the new members will generate significant
revenue for the company. - Paul A. Brown, M.D.
*****HearUSA04-WR
Energy
Specialty Chemicals, Hydrocarbon Fluids and Energy Marketing
Enerchem International Inc. (ECH-TSX)
Enerchem is an oilfield services company providing specialty chemical and
hydrocarbon fluid solutions to the oil and gas industry. There are three internal groups
inside of Enerchem. The Specialty Chemicals Group manufactures proprietary chemical
products. There is the Hydrocarbons Fluids Group, which manufactures drilling fluid,
fracturing fluids and specialty solvents and we have the Energy Marketing Group, which was
created to reduce feedstock costs, improve byproduct resale margins and to develop a crude
oil lease acquisition market. - Douglas F. Robinson
Services
Communications Services
Q Comm International Inc. (QMM - AMEX)
The big benefit of our product is that the retail merchant doesnt have to
stock what were called prepaid hard cards; these were cards that had actual
value to them in dollars, $20.00, $30.00, $50.00. Those cards historically have been
subject to theft by customers and even employees. They also represented a large inventory
carrying cost for the merchant. With our electronic distributions solution we are able to
take our terminal, put it in a retail store, have that connect to a data center that we
run and allow the whole sales process to be done electronically. Once that merchant sells
the product, after the fact we debit their bank account and only after the fact does that
happen. - Terry Kramer
Technology
Communications Equipment
Weida Communications, Inc. (WDAC-OTC: BB)
Our biggest differentiator is that we are in a niche of which no one else is
paying attention. We are the first ones in, the first ones in this category. It is a
category, which has been greatly affected by the Chinese government and certain mandates
of financial institutions, the Hazardous Recovery programs in-place. Right now, to the
best of my knowledge, we are the only ones participating in that with a proven capability
thats already been approved by China Telecom, because its a strategic alliance
with them to take over their major accounts. We are in a unique position. - Mitchell
Sepaniak
Technology
Computer Services
WindsorTech Inc. (WSRT-OTC: BB)
Anyone out there that doesnt think about identity theft, security and
environmental compliance for their IT for their computer equipment is really just fooling
themselves because these are growing responsibilities. Our mission is to continue to
educate businesses, institutions and consumers on how to handle these assets
appropriately. - Marc Sherman
September 9, 2004
Basic Materials, Technology, Natural Resources &
Healthcare
Basic Materials
Reclaimed Industrial Products
International Absorbents Inc. (IAX-AMEX)
Animal bedding is broken into the two areas of pet market and big boxes/ generic
food market. We attacked the pet market first and sell through Petco, Pet Smart; virtually
every pet-chain in North America. There is about an eighty million-dollar market for our
product in this market segment. We are selling 15-20% of that at this point and over half
of that market segment is held by hundreds of manufacturers of wood shavings and similar
kinds of products. The other segment of the animal bedding market is big boxes like
Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target and regular local grocery stores. We are just entering that market
with Wal-Mart and introducing a product called Critter Care. You can buy CareFRESH
at pet stores or you can buy Critter Care or HealthyPet at other big stores. That is
another eighty million dollar market and you are talking about 160 to 200 million dollar
market place for animal bedding in North America. - Gordon Ellis
Technology
Mobile Satellite
C-COM Satellite Systems, Inc. (CMI-TSXV)
The company has a potential upside because this technology is going to be pervasive
everywhere, not just in North America, but you will see it all over the world. You will
see it practically everywhere where one can have access to either by a vehicle or by rail
or even on foot as many of our products can be flown in and dropped off in more and more
places. Internet access has become an essential business tool around the world to many
people and C-COM is making it possible for companies to conduct business and stay
connected anywhere in the world. C-COM, being one of the first to actually deliver this
new technology is going to benefit dramatically both from the knowledge that we have
acquired and accumulated from 7 years of research and development and from our expertise
and ability to design, manufacture, sell and support this product all over the world.
There is nobody that can do this on the scale that we are doing it today. The upside is
enormous. - Leslie Klein, Ph.D.,P.Eng
Technology
Electronic INST. & Controls
NCT Group, Inc. (NCTI-OTC)
Right now we are focused on communications, specifically through our Artera
subsidiary. Artera is the developer of proprietary Internet accelerations and optimization
technologies for residential users, small businesses, enterprises, government agencies and
service providers. As a Virtual Bandwidth solution, Artera Turbo
routinely achieves speeds equivalent to broadband over standard dial-up (56 Kbs)
connections and wireless mobile telephones, a 5X speed improvement. Performance
improvements by up to a factor of five are also achieved over ISDN, DSL, T1/E1, cable and
even satellite links. When we apply Artera Turbo to broadband networks we reduce bandwidth
consumption by 70%-85%, yielding significantly increased network capacity with virtually
no capital expenditure. This is very compelling for business networks because the
optimization techniques we employ are equally effective for both Internet and private
Intranet traffic. Also, for ISPs, Artera technology can be applied simultaneously to the
network and used by subscribers which significantly impacts EBITDA per subscriber. This is
a very exciting area for our company, and we expect some pretty significant growth in this
subsidiary. - Michael J. Parrella
Natural Resources
Exploration
Serengeti Resources Inc. (SIR-TSXV)
We needed to differentiate ourselves. I looked around and there are many gold
explorers. I think there are fewer copper and gold explorers. Exploration is my strong
suit, given my background of thirty years experience. Some of the other people that have
come along with me to Serengeti have equally strong and successful backgrounds on the
exploration and development front, like George Tikkanen, who has also joined the board of
Serengeti. George has over forty years of experience in the mining and exploration
business. The key geological consultant that I have working with me, and a partner in the
early stage properties, is an expert on copper and gold exploration. Why Serengeti? It is
because of the people, our track record of discovery, the strategic focus and a growing
portfolio of attractive properties. These factors should heighten the potential for
success. - David Moore
Healthcare
Healthcare Facilities
Assisted Living Concepts Inc. (ASLC-OTC: BB)
We are now seeing the state and federal governments seeing assisted living as a
viable choice, not only in life enrichment, but also from a financial rearranging of the
money. - Steven Vick
August 26, 2004
Financial Estate, Financial, Technology, Healthcare,
Energy & Mining
Financial Estate
Hotel Management
InnSuites Hospitality Trust (IHT-AMEX)
We were bloodied up by 9/11 as was the case with many hotels in the hotel industry.
We were recovering and then a year ago the Iraq war set us back again. Since October 2003,
we have been on a very solid up trend as far as revenues and profitability. Some of the
factors that worked against us previously are now working for us. For example, in our
industry occupancy is key. After 9/11, in order to maintain our occupancy we had to
dramatically lower our rates and that was a double negative in terms of our profitability.
Now, after October of 2003, our occupancy has gone up and we have been able to raise our
rates. Our occupancies continue to go up as a result of a double benefit is coming toward
us. As an example of that, in the first quarter our operating profits were up 28.9% and
revenue went up 12.6%. This shows the leverage working in our favor as opposed to what was
happening in the three years that it was working against us. - James Wirth
Financial
Regional Banks
Eastern Virginia Bankshares Inc. (EVBS-NASD)
Our focus during the last few years has centered around finding ways to take
advantage of economies of scale. We have invested in our company to ensure that our
operations and technology center are in a state of preparedness in terms of
infrastructure and technology to support de novo branching growth opportunities. We will
continue to open branches in markets where we see a need for a community bank. We have the
infrastructure built to facilitate bringing small banks into our organization, handling
their back room operations, and allowing them to retain their local identity. De novo
branching is a major initiative in our strategic plan, as we see this is our primary
growth vehicle. - Joe Shearin
Technology
Semiconductors
AMIS Holdings Inc. (AMIS-NASD)
Our factories are more flexible than you will find in a typical large company in the
analog and mixed-signal space. That flexibility requires a competency that is not
prevalent in terms of manufacturing in our industry. I think we are unique in that regard
and our customers appreciate that. Because we sell into markets such as medical,
industrial and automotive, our product life cycles are long and our customers want to have
long-term support from us. A standard products company may not be tolerant of that and
particularly of being flexible at the same time. That is what we believe is a key value
proposition for AMI and something that our customers appreciate. - David Henry
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. (BASI: NASD)
We have a good patent portfolio on our products. We have a lot of innovative work to
do, and probably the number one thing for investors to consider is the quality of clients
we have. We do provide products and services to virtually all of the top 25 pharmaceutical
companies globally and we are very proud of that. - Peter Kissinger
Energy
Gas and Oil Exploration
Consolidated Energy Inc. (CEIW-OTC)
If investors look at the energy market, they will quickly see that there is a short
and quite possibly, a long-term opportunity for success related to natural gas and coal.
Investors can look at the natural gas market over the last several years and see that the
natural gas market is strong and will continue to be strong for quite some time. Both of
these fuels are going to be stable financial contributors for Consolidated Energy Inc. The
licensing of our Clean Coal technology, if you look at the amount of coal that is used
globally, and the amount of coal that is in need of a clean coal process, can contribute a
staggering amount to the companys profitability. When CEI is able to license
the use of the clean coal technology on a small percentage of the billions upon billions
of tons of low rank coal used annually, CEI will realize a substantial annual profit
contribution. - David Guthrie
Mining
Diamonds and Precious Metals
Sudbury Contact Mines Ltd. (SUD-TSX)
As a result of the expansion of the property position, we have a lot of work to do up
there and we are currently reviewing the plans for this work. Not only do we have to do
further assessments of our two most recent diamond discoveries, but we also have to do
target identification work on the additional claims that we have staked as well as drill
several promising targets that were identified in earlier work. To date we have only
drilled about a third of our high priority targets and that work discovered the two most
recent diamond bearing structures.4 There are still many targets, which need to be drilled
in this area. We are excited about the fact that we are now identifying multiple
diamond-bearing structures in an area that is not remote and is very close to
infrastructure. - Sean Boyd
August 12, 2004
Energy, Healthcare, Mining & Technology
Energy
Oil/Gas Exploration
Aspen Exploration Corporation (ASPN-OTC: BB)
I believe
weve drilled 17 gas wells out of 20 attempts over the last 3˝ years. That is an 85%
success rate, so we have no trouble finding partners and as a matter of fact, I have a
waiting list of people who would like to get into some of our wells. - Bob Cohan
*****Aspen
ExplorationWR
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Cambridge Heart Inc. (CAMH-NASD)
We are
immersed with the medical community, the ICD companies and Medicare regarding the role
that Microvolt T-Wave Alternans can play in a large population of people in helping to
identify people that are at-risk of sudden death and need to be treated, from those who do
not require invasive therapy. In the process of doing what the technology was
created for, we set ourselves up in a situation where we can be testing hundreds of
thousands if not millions of people a year. Our test costs Medicare about $338.00. The
test costs the physician about eighty dollars in disposable products, namely the Microvolt
T-Wave Alternans sensors. If you do the math, you can quickly come to the conclusion that
in a short time, we can be a very attractive company financially while doing something
that is good for the public health as well. - David Chazanovitz
*****CambridgeHeartWR
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Vical Incorporated (VICL - NASD)
We are a
product development company that is exclusively focused on developing vaccines for
infectious disease and cancer and all of our products are based on our patented DNA
technology, which is known as Plasmid DNA Technology. This technology actually does not
require handling of the pathogen itself but you actually use just the gene sequences from
the pathogen to invoke an immune response. Our focus is vaccines in infectious disease and
cancer and we are one of the few vaccine companies in the United States today. We are a
company that is dedicated to discovering and developing new vaccines where no vaccines
exist and doing it all with a brand new technology which is going to create a paradigm
shift in the entire vaccine business. - Vijay B. Samant
Mining
Gold Exploration
Unigold Inc. (UGD-TSX: Venture)
The next step
for us on our Dominican Republic properties will be to use a combination of exploration
techniques to evaluate the known gold mineralization and large hydrothermally altered
zones on our Neita property. We have about twenty anomalous areas that require work. On
these, we will be doing everything from regional geology to soil geochemistry to trenching
and hopefully finishing up with drilling. At the Los Candelones Gold Deposit on which we
are focusing, we will also conduct an integrated exploration program but weighted towards
drilling to continue to evaluate this mineralized area. We are probably looking at another
year of drilling on Los Candelones to fully understand and to start to develop the
resource. All indications are that it could be significant. - John P. Thompson, M.
Sc., P. Eng.
Mining
Gold, Copper and Nickel Exploration
Virginia Gold Mines Inc. (VIA Toronto)
We already
have close to a half a million ounces of gold in resource and a huge potential to add to
that resource. The fact that we have lots of partners spending millions on our properties,
which means that we are sharing the risk in exploration with other companies, helps us to
reduce the risk in exploration. For example our budget this year is $9.2 million, so that
makes us the most active explorer in Quebec. Of that $9.2 million, Virginias
contribution, our cost, will be $2.8 million, so you can see that we have a beautiful
leverage. The rest will be financed by partners and by the Quebec government through
incentive programs. - Andre Gaumond
Technology
Computer Services
CGI Holding Corporation (CGIH-OB)
WebSourced,
Inc. is a leader in its space called Search Engine Optimization. It assists clients
websites in achieving a top ten ranking when searches are performed on search engines such
as Google, Yahoo, and so forth. Research shows that the majority of people are not willing
to look past the first page of results and 98 - 99% of people are not willing to look past
the third page of results. So WebSourced helps clients redesign, link and do all the
things that need to be done in terms of a website that make it appeal to the search
engines and therefore show up in the top ten of search engine results. - Gerard
Jacobs
July 29, 2004
Technology, Healthcare &
Financial
Technology
Semiconductors
Staktek Holdings Inc. (STAK-NASD)
We look at our company as the leading supplier of
intellectual property and services for miniaturizing memory components. We want to
continue our leadership position in this area and, at the same time, expand our products
and intellectual property for miniaturizing other widely used components including the
complete system. For example, modules: the module market is diverse and large, and we
think there are opportunities certainly in aerospace but also in automotive, medical, and
commercial modules where our stacking technology could be deployed. - James Cady
Technology
Entertainment Media
IA Global, Inc. (IAO-AMEX)
The reason we acquired the core technology from
QuikCAT, was so that we could get more access to the larger American market and also the
technology could then be deployed worldwide. We have only just completed the acquisition
of the core technology so we are still developing our network and we are working with some
partners on a worldwide basis to expand the reach of the QuikCAT technology. We do not
want it to be just in one area of the world. - Alan Margerion
Healthcare
Biotechnology and Drugs
Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS-NASD)
PreGen-Plus is a test for the early detection of colon cancer and it uses
a stool sample from a patient. We isolate human DNA from the stool sample and look for
specific mutations and markers that have been associated with colon cancer; if the test is
positive, the physician refers the patient to a colonoscopy. If the specimen is negative,
the patient should be screened on a regular basis for the rest of his or her life; you
usually start screening for colon cancer at age fifty and above. Because it is a DNA based
test, it is much different than the other tests that have been historically used for colon
cancer screening, which are normally blood tests that are indirect measures for cancer. We
are looking for changes in the DNA that are indicative of cancer. - Don Hardison
Financial
Bank
Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc. (WFSG-NASD)
In
April (2004), the Company sold its specialty servicing subsidiary to Merrill Lynch. That was a $50 million deal, which closed on the
April 30, 2004. This means that the Company has one main operating subsidiary, First Bank
of Beverly Hills. Because of that, we are going to propose a name change for the holding
company so it more closely links to the Bank; The name change will be Beverly Hills
Bancorp, a unitary holding company, and a $1.2 billion bank as its major operating
subsidiary. - Joseph W. Kiley III
Financial
Regional Banks
The Wilber Corporation (GIW-AMEX)
We continue to look at expanding our physical base. In March, we converted a loan
production office in Binghamton New York to a full service branch and in April, we opened
another loan production office in Kingston New York, which is about 100 miles to the east.
We like the model of the loan production office where we can find a good quality lender
that is familiar with a particular market, hire him or her and see if we can bring our
brand of banking into that market. If we are as successful as we were in the Binghamton
area, then we will expand into a full-service office. It is a conservative way to grow
because it doesnt cost very much to open a loan production office. If it
isnt successful, although we havent had one that hasnt been, you can
shut it down and move on. If you are successful, you move on and create a larger presence.
At the same time we have been doing that, we have been active in purchasing
branches. - Alfred S. Whittet
Financial
Regional Banks
Capital Bank Corporation (North Carolina) (CBKN-NSDQ)
I think we have one of the best franchises in the Southeast. We have excellent
bankers in our markets, and theyre all taking care of customers
We have a
management team that is diverse in talent and is strongly committed to the long term
success of the bank and to a good return for our shareholders. - B. Grant Yarber
July 15, 2004
Consumer Cyclical, Basic
Materials, Mining & Financial
Consumer Cyclical
Recreational Products
Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (RUS-NYSE)
I am very enthusiastic about the
potential for this business and I dont see much in the way of meaningful barriers. I
believe that when you operate in a business that is as fragmented as this one is, and
there arent any major competitors that own more than two or three percent share of
the market, at a most fundamental level, the ability to arrive and compete effectively in
that kind of a marketplace is very appealing. - Andrew R. Gatto
Basic Materials
Gold and Silver
Canyon Resources Corp. (CAU-AMEX)
We are operating a mine in the desert of South Eastern California, and we own 13.7
million ounces of gold in three deposits in Montana, which represents a sizeable asset
base for Canyon. We are hoping to be able to bring these projects forward into mine
development. - Richard H. De Voto
Mining
Exploration-zinc, gold and copper
Karmin Exploration Inc. (KAR-TSXV)
We have the largest unexploited zinc deposit in Brazil, I think it is the second or
third in South America. Aripuană is in the province of Mato Grosso, in central Brazil. We
have a new partner, Votorantim, who own the two zinc smelters in the country, and they are
looking to develop this mine as a source for this smelter. Base metal mines make a
concentrate that is sold to smelters and the smelters main market is the huge Brazilian
automotive industry. The Aripuană project is 24 million tons and it contains zinc,
silver, gold and copper. - William Fisher
Financial
Regional Banks
Gateway Financial Holdings Inc. (GBTS-NASD)
I think the thing you will see is that our bankers are willing to meet with our
customers on holidays, weekends, nights, or early in the morning to have breakfast. They
will do whatever is necessary to accommodate the customers needs. They will go above
and beyond and interact with them socially to help accomplish various things in the
community. We have been supportive of a number of community activities; everything from
the little theatres to various public events and fireworks for the Fourth of July, and
just supporting things in the community to give people a better sense of community.
- D. Ben Berry
Financial
Regional Banks
KNBT Bancorp, Inc. (KNBT-NASD)
World class community banking is about listening to the customer and trying to deliver on
a better level of customer service. It is about delivering on a better level of technology
and ultimately, meeting our customers needs through a wider-span, super community bank. We
know that we are not there yet, but our vision is set high and our mission is to achieve
it. That is our goal. - Scott Fainor
July 1, 2004
Financial, Technology, Capital Goods,
Healthcare & Mining
Finance
Misc. Financial Services
CVF Technologies Corp. (CNV- AMEX)
The common thread among the companies we chose to invest in is principally
environmental and principally early stage when we first get involved with them. We have
incubated these companies from the level of an idea in the inventors mind, to an
actual company that we helped create and develop. Typically there is an environmental
thread, so we have companies with air pollution controls and electric vehicle technology.
Anything that has to do with the environment is what we typically invest in. We have also
invested in some information technology companies where there is a socially interesting
aspect to them. - Jeffrey Dreben
*****CVFTechnologiesWR
Technology
Computer Networks
Castelle Inc. (CSTL-NASD)
If you look back at the last two years, the company was trading at 45 cents a share
and we have been consistently above three dollars a share in six to nine months, so there
has been a significant turnaround in the valuation and exposure of the company. You do not
find too many small, medium or large companies that have no debt and have cash. We are
generating a profit and we are growing. As I stated before, with FaxPress and our new
product, FaxPress Premier, we have an opportunity to grow in this worldwide network fax
server market. I think that is a nice opportunity or investment play for someone. We have
the ability, we know what we are doing and our mission is to grow in that marketplace. We
have experienced two years of growth and it remains to be seen if we will be able to
continue, but I think that we will have a good shot at continuing to grow in the network
fax server marketplace. - Scott McDonald
Capital Goods
Aerospace and Defense
Allied Defense Group, Inc. (ADG-AMEX)
People choose Allied because of our strengths and our potential. For example,
we have a very good diversified business model. We have a military and commercial customer
base, operate in high growth markets, have proprietary products and intellectual
properties, and we have the ability to design and engineer to meet the distinct needs of
each customer. These qualities and abilities extend to all six of our subsidiaries and
really separate us from other competitors. - John G. Meyer, Jr., Major General
(Retired)
Healthcare
Biotechnology
Oragenics, Inc. (ONI-NASD)
Bacteria in your mouth form cavities and there are 300 bacteria in your mouth
and one of them is called Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans), it converts sugar
into acid, and the acid eats away at the enamel on your teeth and exposes the soft tissue
dentin and allows cavities to form. We have a genetically modified S. mutans bacteria that
is identical in all respects except for the fact that it is missing the gene that produces
acid. It doesnt produce any acid but it still resides in the same niche in the oral
flora. It is going to be one simple application; you go to the dentist office, the dentist
will clean your teeth, put a solution in your mouth that you hold in your mouth for a few
minutes and that will allow the bacteria to begin to colonize and replace the bacteria
that you have in your mouth; it doesnt affect any other bacteria, only the Streptococcus
mutans. Within six months, you should be cavity-free. - Mento Chuck
Soponis
Mining
Gold and Silver Exploration
Argentex Mining Corporation (AGXM-OTC)
Argentex is a junior mining exploration firm with significant holdings in the
emerging gold areas of Somuncura Massif and Deseado Massif regions of Argentina. The
company has near-term exploration projects, based on existing gold discovery on one of its
properties, with longer-term potential to become the exploration leader in the region
based on proximity of the holdings to known gold reserves and mineralization. -
Chris Dyakowski
June 17, 2004
Natural Resources, Services,
Financial, Healthcare &Technology
Natural Resources
Mining-Halloysite
Atlas Mining Company (ALMI-OTC)
Even though Atlas Mining is a small company, we are looking at getting our
halloysite clay property into production this year, but we are not going to stop with just
that, we are going to move forward and take on other properties and projects. We will
continue to grow. - William Jacobson
*****AtlasMiningCompanyWR
Technology
Online Video Rental
GameZnFlix, Inc. (GZFX OTC: BB)
The first series of commercials is targeted at the thirty to forty-year-old moms
with one or two children. In my opinion it is the women who suffer from mom can we
stop at Blockbuster and get a videogame. I believe that stay-at-home moms are
by far the most hard-working, underpaid people in the world; they put more hours in than
any person that goes out to work. There are those nice single moms who run their home and
go to work at the same time and God bless them all for that. I have more respect for a
working mom than anyone on the face of the earth. If she is a working mom with several
children maybe, then this is just one more source of aggravation. Our commercial with
Dennis Cole is directed at that mom, trying to make her life a little bit easier and that
is our first market. - John Fleming
*****GameZnFlixWR
Services
Real Estate Operations
United Dominion Realty Trust Inc. (UDR-NYSE)
I think real estate is a very secure, safe investment particularly apartments
since one out of every three people in America live in some type of rental property. It
does not go out of style and it is not replaced by technology; it is a safe way to invest.
We operate in one segment that is probably the most predictable and safest of all real
estate investments and that is apartments. We focus even further in the middle market,
which is a segment of the business. Third, we are focused on operations as our value
added. We are not a builder, which is fun and exciting but risky. We are focused on buying
existing communities and running them better than the ones before; we believe that through
our systems and our people that we can do that and we have a track record of doing
that. - Thomas Toomey
Services
School Industry
Touchstone Applied Science Associates, Inc. (TASA
OTC)
In the first quarter of the year, we had a big increase in revenues
. On the
proprietary side, we shipped our English proficiency assessments to the states of
Arkansas, Missouri and Rhode Island
. On the custom testing side, we had a big order
backlog from last year. Now we are getting multi-year contracts. Going into this year, we
had a backlog of business that equated to all of last years business. We anticipate
increases throughout the year
. - Andrew Simon
Services
Sports Recreation
Bentley Sports, Inc. (BESR - OTC/Pinksheets)
The major advancements in technology have helped us apply the benefits of
technology in body motion systems to a consumer based product in the sporting world. This
has never been done before. The motion analysis technology of the past has been for the
biomechanical labs, in other words, very complex and expensive equipment built
specifically for the medical field. Our company took these technologies and with our
outstanding team of specialists, programmers and designers have taken what we needed from
these technologies and made them specific to the sport of choice. We have taken a very
complex system and made it user friendly so that a PGA professional or snow sport
instructor can use it with minimal difficulty and concentrate on working with his student
using an objective learning programs. - Michael Bentley
Financial
Regional Banks
Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc. (CLBH-NASD)
We are performing at or above peer group level in earnings, growth, and the quality
of our loan portfolio is much better than our peers, both regionally and nationally, save
a few exceptions. We are clearly in the top one or two percent and as long as we are
performing at that level, we feel that we have no need to sell out because we are
achieving our goals. As I mentioned earlier, with the 91% increase in revenue last year,
up 50% in the first quarter, very few banks are going to be able to achieve those
consistent results, and that is our goal to do so. I cannot promise or give guidance that
it will increase our earnings 50% this year, but they are going to be up noticeably over
the last. That takes the pressure off in trying to sell out. We also know that our balance
sheet is very asset sensitive. By that I mean that as interest rates increase, our income
will increase relatively rapidly for about twelve to fifteen months until the pricing on
our deposits catch up. By that very function, our level of income will go up materially
faster and more than many of our peers who are not as asset sensitive as we are. That has
been our strategy that we think is in our best interest. - Robert T. Braswell
Healthcare
Biotech and Drugs
Symbollon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SYMBA-OTC)
There are other companies that are initiating programs for compounds to treat fibrocystic
breast disease; however, Symbollon is certainly in the lead and has been out in the
forefront in developing IoGen. Fibrocystic breast disease certainly represents an
unmet market need, and I believe that when the proper pharmaceutical is delivered to the
marketplace, people will begin to realize how many women are in need of treatment. -
- Paul Desjourdy
Technology
Computer Services
SumTotal Systems Inc. (SUMT-NASD)
Weve set ourselves apart from competitors with two times the revenue of the
nearest one, three times the customer base, two or three times the R&D and support
staffs of other companies and we operate globally. We are now playing in almost, if
not all, the major projects around the globe. - R. Andrew Eckert
Technologies
Electronics Instruction & Controls
RF Monolithics, Inc. (RFMI-NASD)
There is very strong growth right now out of the communications product group,
especially the filters, which has been driven by satellite radio growth. Weve
designed in filters for both satellite service providers. The satellite radio
subscriber rate is growing very strongly. That is probably our strongest growth followed
very closely by the Virtual Wire® product family, which is driven by the automated meter
reading market. These are the strong drivers at this particular time. - David M.
Kirk
June 3, 2004
Financial, Technology, Natural
Resources & Capital Goods
Financial
Regional Banks
Community Bankshares Inc. (SCB-AMEX)
We try to synthesize the advantage of size and keep the character of local community
banking alive and well through a multi-bank holding company business model. We have four
banks and a mortgage company, each with their own officers and their own directors. At the
corporate level, we provide general guidance but mostly we provide technical services,
such as data processing, item processing, internal auditing, compliance and shareholder
services. We take care of the banks so that the banks can take care of the local
customers. It has worked well for us and it gives us a much better marketing strategy than
our larger competitors because our customers want a direct personal connection to their
local bank and banker. Our other big advantage is that we have some tremendous talent on
our individual bank boards, which would be hard to come by if we were simply a standalone
community bank. - William Traynham
*****CommunityBanksharesWR
Technology
Machining
AmeriChip International Inc. (ACHI.OB)
Our market potential just in automotive, even though we affect aircraft and
heavy equipment like tractor building, is 250 million. The part of the market that we
decided to go after was automotive, and if I just laser the parts for other people and let
them make the parts our market potential would be $250 million annually. If I manufacture
the parts and deliver the parts as a low-cost producer, then my market potential is over a
billion dollars a year just in automotive and just in North America. Then there is the
European market, where we currently have consultants for a company that we can
purchase. - Marc Walther
Technology
Telematics
AirIQ Inc. (IQ-Toronto)
There are several factors that make this the right time to go after the consumer
Telematics market. First, there is a growing recognition, which I will call, security in
all forms, whether that is driven by 9/11 or otherwise, there is an increased
consciousness for security. Secondly, the underlying technology components of our systems
are now at a point where the consumer economics work. Several years ago a trucking company
might have been able to afford a device that cost twelve hundred dollars, but a consumer
wouldnt. Thirdly, I think there is a general appreciation for this type of
technology. There is a consumer awareness of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is
our location technology, and what it can do. There is a confidence, trust and awareness
that this type of technology can now be applied to consumer vehicles. - Donald E.
Simmonds
Capital Goods
Construction
Wireless Facilities Inc. (WFII-NASD)
With our technical expertise and strong customer relationship we believe we are
uniquely positioned as the largest pure-play RF engineering company in the U.S. and maybe
in the world to take advantage of this wireless industry growth curve that we believe we
are on. - Eric M. DeMarco
Financial
Regional Banks
Interchange Financial Services Corporation (IFCJ-NASD)
The key to conducting our business is to bring the customer the Interchange
experience, which I define as efficient, friendly, courteous service. We have practiced
those principles since day one and I have drilled it into everyone. I continually
reinforce our differentiators and that is what separates us from everybody else. -
Anthony S. Abbate
May 20, 2004
Consumer, Consumer Non-Cyclical,
Healthcare, Financial & Technology
Consumer
Personal Care Services
Medical Makeover Corporation of America (MMAM-OTC: BB)
Our vision is to capitalize upon the industry and the demographics, to build a
comprehensive approach to helping people improve their appearance. This comprehensive
approach includes plastic surgery, cosmetic dermatology, cosmetic dentistry as well as
hair makeup and fashion advice so that you can create a new physical appearance for
yourself. Our strategy is to form comprehensive teams; we are Beta testing this in the
South Florida marketplace and as we develop our brand, we will extend this
nationally. - Walter E. Birch
*****MedicalMakeoverCorpWR
Healthcare
Orthodontics
TC Orthodontic Lab (Privately held)
The Truax Correctors are removable functional/orthopedic appliances. The TC II
appliance will correct large overjets, overbites and TMD. The TC III appliances will
correct large underbites (Class III malocclusion). Surgery is seldom necessary. -
Lloyd H. Truax, DDS, MSD
*****TCOrthodonticLabWR
Consumer Non-Cyclical
Personal and Household Products
Imagenetix Inc. (IAGX.OB)
There are multiple reasons why we conduct first class clinical studies. One,
scientific credibility; One can always get testimonials on any type of compound or
product, particularly in the natural arena. If you subject your product to a well
designed, double blinded placebo study your product has specifically validated health
benefits. These type of studies Imagenetix conducts are the gold standard clinical and
medical type, again which are double blind, placebo controlled and conducted in a top
university setting, then published in premier medical, peer reviewed journals. Also these
studies when done right provide the consumer and our clients with justifiable confidence
in the product. For example, a leading Pharma Company in India Cipla Ltd. (NSE: CIPLA)
will be selling a topical cream and pills using our Celadrin® compound as a prescriptive
drug to medical doctors and pharmacies throughout India. Great science leads to the
generation of new clients and expanding channels of distribution. - William P.
Spencer
Financial
Insurance (Life)
Citizens, Inc. (CIA-NYSE)
We approach the sale of life insurance from a slightly different perspective than
most life insurance companies. The problem people will face during their later years
in life is the fact that we are all living longer and we will need to have an income when
we can no longer work to earn an income. Citizens designs its products to provide an
income that cannot be outlived. Our products emphasize living benefits. The
most important part of the life insurance equation is the living benefit. Living
benefits help the majority of the people who buy life insurance because eighty-five of one
hundred who reach age sixty-five will need the return of their money, not a death benefit.
By concentrating our product development energies toward the eighty-five percent of
the population who will be living beyond the traditional retirement age, Citizens
products benefit the majority. - Rick Riley
Technology
Software and Programming
Smith Micro Software, Inc. (SMSI-NASD)
In the wireless space, which is our lead focus area, we have been very fortunate to
be able to get some of the big names in that market place to be our customers. We focus
hard, we have a great product and we are recognized for that. We grow by helping our
customers grow. The wireless data market is still a very early stage young market. Verizon
Wireless, our largest customer, is the leader in this market and as they continue to grow,
we grow. We also are looking at other customers coming on board as more and more service
providers see the wisdom of offering data services. - William W. Smith, Jr.
May 6, 2004
Services, Healthcare, Financial,
Basic Materials, Technology &
Telecommunications
Services
Business Services
MTC Technologies Inc. (MTCT-NASD)
The reason that we have been successful is that we always pay very careful attention
to the needs of the customer. Our company vision and the training we provide our people
are geared toward amazing the customer with the level of service that we give them. It
starts with the selection of the people; we look hard to find the people that have the
right background and qualifications for the job, and in many cases, that means a very
particular type of expertise. - David Gutridge
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
Ingen Technologies Inc. (CRTZ.PK)
Ingen Technologies offers an investment opportunity that is unique. You have a
company that has liquidity with a medical device that is patented and in production, with
a vast market opportunity. - Scott R. Sand
Healthcare
Biotechnology
Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation (GENE-NASDAQ)
The vision that we had for the company was to create a pharmaceutical business. The
company built a great track-record in genomics-based target discovery during the
1990s, and parlayed that scientific capability into a number of successful alliances
with major pharmaceutical companies. During the last three years, the company has taken
the next step to focus on developing and marketing products of its own. Today, that is the
chief mission of the company. - Steven M. Rauscher
Financial
Regional Banks
WGNB Corp. (WGNB-NASD)
According to U.S Banker Magazine, we are the 16th highest performing,
publicly traded financial institution under one billion in assets in the nation. Over a
five year period, our return on assets has averaged 1.52% while our peers averaged 1.31%.
The companys five year average return on equity is 16.35% and our peers are 13.63%.
Over the last five years, dividends have increased an average of sixteen percent a year
and continue to do well. Our management of the balance sheet has enabled us to maintain an
excellent interest rate spread. - L. Leighton Alston
Basic Materials
Misc. Fabricated Products
Super Vision International Inc. (SUPVA-NASD)
I think we are looking at an exciting time in the LED and lighting industry as a whole. A
change like this doesnt take place more than once a century. Super Vision has the
key foundational position both from a patent and a product standpoint. With an investment
in Super Vision they can participate in the tremendous growth of this industry. -
Brett Kingstone
Technology
Computer Services
InstaPay Systems Inc. (IPYS-OTC: BB)
So far, we dont see competition on the horizon for what we are doing. I think
many of the larger companies in the industry have held back and thought that enabling
debit transactions for Internet merchants is thinking out of the box, and they have
decided to let someone else do it first. I am optimistic that we have a long lead on all
the potential competitors, plus we have all of our patents, so I think the potential
competitors are more likely to partner with us. I am not too worried about the
competition. - Harry Hargens
Telecommunications
Narrowband/Broadband Data
SkyLynx Communications, Inc. (SKYC-OTC)
It doesnt sound like much but our system is probably thirty percent of the
original cost for a satellite system and an equal cost for a cellular based system. The
per-minute usage is comparable to cellular; we are about 70% cheaper than a satellite
based system. - Gary Brown
April 23, 2004
Mining, Technology, Healthcare & Environmental Technologies
Mining
Diamond Exploration
Diamond Discoveries International Corporation (DMDD-OTC)
It was because of this discovery of diamonds in the Canadian shield of Northern
Canada that there has been a great influx of diamond exploration in Canada by Canadian
companies. There has been a great exchange of technical information between companies;
Canadian junior companies are required to release all their technical information. There
has been a great influx of knowledge about how diamonds occur, what to look for, how they
are found and the technology has blossomed since 1998. Because of that, in Canada there
has been a big growth in the diamond industry. I think Diamond Discoveries is one of the
few of the North American OTC companies that are actually into the diamond exploration
field. - John Kowalchuk
*****DiamondDiscoveriesWR
Technology
Electronic Instruments & Controls
Merix Corp. (MERX-NASD)
The vision that we established for the company when I took over was to become the
premiere high technology printed circuit board supplier to leading OEMs on a global basis.
While it has been difficult the last couple of years, I think we have executed on our
strategy, continued to grow our customer base and continued to be recognized as a leading
provider of high technology printed circuit boards. - Mark Hollinger
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Dynatronics Corporation (DYNT NASD)
In September 2003, Dynatronics introduced its new line of Solaris Light Therapy
products. These units offer infrared light therapy that can be plugged into a
combination electrotherapy/ultrasound therapy unit and used for pain management and wound
healing. - Kelvyn H. Cullimore, Jr.
Healthcare
Services
The Quantum Group, Inc. (QTUM-OTC: BB)
Our goal is to improve the quality of care. Many consumers are confused in
thinking that expensive or unlimited care is better quality care. Most research facilities
have found that not to be true. We, as a country, spend up to 50% more on a per capita
basis than other developed countries that have by most standards, a better healthcare
system, if you consider lifespan, infant mortality, over-all wellness and lifestyle as the
qualifying factors. We spend the most money but we do not have the best system. We,
in The Quantum Group, believe that being more proactive and connected, by connecting the
managed care organization to the physician to the patient, that we will be able to provide
better healthcare for our patients or the patients of our clients at a lower cost. -
Noel J. Guillama
Environmental Technologies
Industrial Products
ENPAR Technologies Inc. (ENP Toronto Venture)
Our systems for treating drinking water and wastewater have many advantages. Let me
start with our DesEl System for desalinating seawater and removing dissolved inorganic
contaminants from brackish water. With conventional approaches like reverse osmosis,
for every ten gallons of water processed you may be lucky to recover five gallons of clean
water while the remaining five gallons or more requires disposal. Our system consistently
recovers more than nine gallons of clean water for every ten gallons treated, so you get a
greatly improved recovery of water. The major cost is pumping that water, especially if it
is ground water, so it is critical that as much clean water is recovered by the system as
possible. - Dr. Gene Shelp
April 8, 2004
Healthcare, Mining, Technology &
Consumer Products
Healthcare
Eye care Services
Eye Care International, Inc. (EYCI-OTC)
Through a lot of trial and error, diligence and effort, we were able to essentially
sign up roughly 50% of the most prestigious eye surgeons in the United States, to
ECIs discount model on an exclusive basis. We also have about 50% of all the
optometric facilities on a non-exclusive basis. It makes us the largest discount vision
network in the United States, and the only national discount network having
ophthalmologist discount services including the electives. That was the vision, to bring
the cost of eyecare down and service the population Clark A. Marcus
*****EyeCareWR
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supply
Trimedyne, Inc. (TMED-OTC)
We have developed superb, patented products that address extremely large,
multi-billion dollar markets in healthcare. Our products have been cleared for sale by the
FDA, and are used in minimally invasive procedures, which are rapidly replacing
conventional surgery. Most importantly, we have demonstrated that we can operate
profitably. - Marvin P. Loeb, Sc.D.
Mining
Gold Exploration
Canarc Resource Corp. (CRCUF.OB - OTC: BB) (CCM
Toronto)
I think Canarc has all it needs in its property portfolio now, for a major gain in
its share price, through our discovery and development of a gold mine in South America and
through the geological work and construction of a high grade mine at New Polaris in
northern British Columbia. These two projects alone should drive our shares significantly
going forward. - Bradford Cooke
Technology
Mobile Computing
AP Henderson Group (The Company) (APHG-OTC)
Slide View Corp. (The Subsidiary)
We are in a hundred billion dollar market; we are the only company out there with
intellectual property, securing this type of a concept of offering more panels in a view.
We feel with our intellectual property, and potential rolling out our prototype, that we
will step foot into into this segment, that we hope to capture a piece of that
marketplace. With that market segment growing rapidly, we feel that a new product,
offering a new solution to the up and coming multi-tasking, which has grown from infancy
in 1998, to a relative in a five billion dollar market segment today, that we should be
able to capture a potentially substantial piece of that market. - Daniel Duquette
Consumer Products - Wine
Knightsbridge Fine Wines, Inc. (KFWI-OTC)
Investors should realize that a company that becomes involved with Knightsbridge
could dramatically increase their distribution on a global and national basis with the
best sales team from the industry. Each member of our senior management in sales and
marketing has a long resume of success of brands that they have created from nothing or
brands that they have taken over and brought to million-case level sales volume. That is
unique within the industry. - Jake Shapiro
March 25, 2004
Financial, Technology, Energy &
Services
Financial
Regional Banks
Peoples Financial Corporation (PFBX-NASD)
You
cant have too much capital; I guess I inherited that from my father and my
grandfather. Last year, when we did the interview, our primary capital average assets were
about 15.3%. This year at year-end, it was 15.84%. Some of that was due to the fact that
we had a good year. I think it can also be
attributable to the fact that the economy is truly getting better down here, which I think
is a good thing. - Chevis C. Swetman
*****PeoplesFinancial04WR
Financial
Banking
Franklin American Mortgage Company
(Privately-Held)
We are here to stay. We have a strong balance sheet and we are only going to get
better. Even in the market that we are in right now, we are still nicely profitable and we
are going to continue to be. I think we are going to have a wonderful year in 2004 when
the industry is projected to be down as much as 65% over last year. I think we are still
going to have a very nice, comfortable, solid year at Franklin American Mortgage. -
Dan Crockett
*****FranklinAmericanMortgage04WR
Technology
Communications Equipment
ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. (AEY-AMEX)
Over the last two years, with the transformation of our business, TULSAT has
become a Value Added Reseller (VAR) of Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE: SFA)
and Motorola (MOT) broadband products. TULSAT is an exclusive Scientific-Atlanta
Master Distributor for certain legacy products and distributes most of their other
products. TULSAT has been designated an authorized third party Scientific-Atlanta
repair center for selected products. Another subsidiary, NCS Industries, is a leading
distributor of Motorola broadband products. Other subsidiaries distribute several
additional products along with operating repair centers for OEM equipment used in the
CATV industry. - Kenneth Chymiak
*****ADDvantageTech04WR
Energy
Oil and Gas Exploration
Whittier Energy Corporation (WHIT-OTC)
I think investors should look at our recent history and our growth. When considering
making an investment, they should look carefully at the management team. In our case, we
have a close-knit management group of three people, who are highly qualified, energetic,
and have the business experience necessary to successfully execute the companys
strategy. We have demonstrated our ability to do so over the last two years, and have
every expectation of continuing down this path. We have been able to add new reserves to
the company and add value for the shareholders. The company has a unique history in terms
of its predecessors and with the Whittier family having been active in the oil industry
since the late 1800s. Whittier has a very good reputation and we expect to maintain
it and carry it forward. - Bryce W. Rhodes
*****WhittierEnergyWR
Energy
Oil and Gas Operations
World Fuel Services Corporation (INT-NYSE)
In the marine market, we are the largest buyer and seller of marine fuel in
the world. Nobody buys or sells more than we do, not even specific major oil companies. As
a group, they buy and sell more than we do, but not individually. In aviation we are among
the top ten sellers and top five buyers globally. As one of the biggest buyers and sellers
of both marine and aviation fuels; if you put the two types of fuel together we are
clearly one of the very largest buyers and sellers of such fuels in the world. -
Francis X. Shea
Services
Personal Services
Childtime Learning Centers Inc. (CTIM-NASD)
We believe that our focus on excellence along with our proprietary curriculum gives
us a competitive advantage in the market place. We also are the only national
childcare chain with a model that includes both corporate and franchise locations.
This allows us to leverage our infrastructure to provide our franchisees more support than
in a pure franchising operation. The corporate/franchise model also gives us more growth
potential than a normal corporate operation because we have the ability to have individual
owner/operators expanding in markets. - William Davis
March 11, 2004
Technology, Energy & Financial
Technology
Marine Treasure
Ruby Mining Company (RUBM.OB)
We have spent much time and money developing this technology over a number of years
and have now developed a technology that can tell the difference between gold, silver,
copper, aluminum, etc. There are a number of technologies generally known as magnetometers
that can tell you whether or not something is a ferrous or non-ferrous metal. There is no
other technology that we know of, and we certainly have looked, that can tell you whether
something is gold or silver. - Howard Collingwood
Energy
Oil and Gas Producers
Celtic Exploration Ltd. (CLT-Toronto Stock
Exchange)
The way we choose properties is not geographically but more on how much upside we
think there is in the area and the property. If we do an acquisition, we dont do it
to just add production to become bigger, but we do the acquisition because we think we can
get the property producing two or three times as much as it is currently. Two or three
years later, instead of producing two or three hundred barrels a day from the new
property, we hope to be at five hundred or a thousand. We have been able to do that for
the most part on anything that we have purchased. - David J. Wilson
Financial
Community Banks
Oregon Pacific Bancorp (OPBP-OTC)
Firstly, our customers receive immediate attention; because every one of our
branches has a reception desk right in front of the front door and that desk is always
manned with somebody who has been with the bank for a number of years and has some
experience. That person will then direct them where they need to go with service. We
dont point them toward a telephone with an 800 number, which is what many of the
larger banks do today. If we have somebody that needs service from our trust department,
which is in the back of the Florence facility, we dont point a finger and show them
where to go, we call the trust person and they come out and greet them and take them back
to their office. - Tom Grove
February 26, 2004
Consumer Cyclical, Financial,
Computer Software & Healthcare
Consumer Cyclical
Apparel/Accessories
The Leather Factory, Inc. (TLF-AMEX)
We like revenue growth, earnings growth, and cash flow. We like to make money and put cash in the bank. Over the last several years, we have been able to
accomplish all of those things while expanding. In
addition, we have a quality management team with high ethical standards committed to
running a solid, stable company. - Shannon Greene
*****TheLeatherFactoryWR
Financial
Community Bank
Michigan Heritage Bancorp Inc. (MHBC.OB)
In 1997, we began as a community bank at a time when other banks were merging and
becoming larger or actually going away because the big banks were gobbling them up. We
felt there was a need for a smaller community bank to fill the void the larger banks left.
We have actually done that over the last six-and-a-half years that we have been in
business. Our IPO along with a few other local banks that went public during that time
period have created a good relationship with various customers who are not being serviced
properly by the larger out-of-state banks. At this point, I think we have done a good job
in providing that service. - Anthony S. Albanese
Computer Software
Interactive Entertainment
Games, Inc.
(GMSI - OTC: BB)
We look at the company and we see a very high visibility in its brands and a high
potential in the state lottery business and that is why we have put so much of our own
personal money into the company. - Roger Ach
Healthcare
Biotechnology
InNexus Biotechnology Inc. (IXS-Toronto: Venture)
Over the last 30 years, it has been proven that you can make drugs from monoclonal
antibodies
and that these drugs can probably be more useful than traditional drugs in treating
different kinds of diseases. Currently, monoclonal
antibodies do about three billion dollars a year in sales. It has gone from a great
concept to a proven commercial approach in making drugs. What we do is improve the
therapeutic activity of monoclonal
antibodies.
There are two big impacts of that; obviously the first means that we can treat diseases
better with monoclonal
antibodies and probably more importantly, it means that we can get them approved as drugs
more readily. They have a much higher likelihood of being approved as a SuperAntibody
rather than a regular monoclonal
antibody.
- Dr. Charles A. Morgan
February 12, 2004
Financial, Technology & Services
Financial
Regional Banks
Analyst Interview Covering:
First State Bancorporation (FSNM-NASD)
First State Bancorporations Colorado operation will gain some maturity over
the next two or three years. The New Mexico business is mature and they have some
refinement that they can do there but it is firing on all cylinders; it is a matter of
getting Colorado up to where New Mexico is. Both markets should provide for solid balance
sheet growth but the Colorado opportunity should be very good for a long time, considering
the companys low market share. - Peyton N. Green, Senior Analyst, Financial
Institutions Group, FTN Midwest Research Securities Corp.
*****AnalystFirstStateBancorpWR
Financial
Regional Banks
First State Bancorporation (FSNM-NASD)
I think for our organization, the key has been that although the majority of our
operation is still here in New Mexico, we now have opportunities in three states that give
us a much larger potential marketplace and some geographic diversity. Probably the one
thing that is hard to convey in the written word is that we have some of the best people
working for us in all of those markets. As the big banks have changed their policies and
the way they operate, they have opened up the opportunity for us to hire some of the best
banking talent in each of these markets. - H. Patrick Dee
*****FirstState BancorporationWR
Services
Business Services
Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. (AIX-AMEX)
I think that because people try to categorize AccessIT, they look at where much of
our revenue and operating profits come from, they only see software and data centers and
immediately they think maybe that is what we are. When someone looks at our history,
however, they need to understand that we have used this platform that we created over the
past couple of years to move all the way up to the top of the stack in the application
layer to secure a leading position in an industry that is about to explode. In my opinion,
if an investor is interested in an emerging company, particularly one addressing digital
media, then Access IT is the primary investment and the only pure play that they can
invest in. - A. Dale Mayo
*****AccessITWR
Technology
Scientific and Technical Instruments
Image Sensing Systems Incorporated (ISNS-NASD)
We are in a growing market. Our focus has been intersections. We have not
touched the Freeway market and that is something we will have to look into as a company.
Right now, our plate is full as we are in the development process with three products for
the current year and one product for next year. We also have a number of software upgrades
and new features we are working on. There are just so many things you can do and do
right. Going back to early 2002 we were limping; we said we may have made
some wrong turns in the road and well get it turned around. I am pleased that our
engineers, distributors and our partners, Econolite and Wireless Technology, Inc. have
done an outstanding job and it has reflected in our sales and profits. - James
Murdakes
*****ImageSensingSystemsWR
Services
Communications Services
Millicom International Cellular SA (MICC-NASD)
The biggest challenge for us is to cope with this increased growth. We really see
great opportunities in the countries where we are now present. We want to seize those
opportunities. We are a relatively small organization, so we will have to work hard to
cope with that growth but I am very much convinced that we can do that. The growth is
there in Asia and Africa. We will be there to take advantage of that. - Marc Beuls
Services
Technology Services
Calian Technology Ltd. (CTY-TSX)
I have been with Calian for three years now, and I have seen the evolution at
Calian. We have a strong management team. We have a team that is conservative in its
approach and does not make decisions lightly. It is focused on making sure that decisions
are inline with its vision to be the most desirable service provider to work for, buy from
and invest in. We look at those three areas continually when we are making decisions. We
have built a strong, solid company with a very good reputation; and we have a solid
backlog to support it. - Jacqueline Gauthier
Financial
Banks
Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. (PNFP-NASD)
Banking is still a people business, so the most important ingredient of providing
distinctive service is ensuring that you have a workforce that is excited, engaged and
capable of providing excellent service. There are other components to our distinctive
service, such as a courier deposit pick-up system. We go to commercial clients
locations to pick up their deposits and bring them to the bank. That has been an
outstanding component of our service equation and it is different from what the large
regional banks do. Additionally, we are blessed by the fact that when we started the
company in the year 2000, we started with state-of-the-art systems, which are all online,
real-time, Oracle database systems. The point of that is, the information that we are able
to provide clients is real-time and so robust that the quality of information they are
able to retrieve from our company is far superior to what they can receive from a large
regional bank and most community banks. Distinctive service takes on a number of
components, the most critical of which is people, but also includes innovative approaches
to distribution such as courier deposit pick-up and state-of-the-art system support.
- M. Terry Turner
January 30, 2004
Healthcare, Financial & Financial
Insurance
Healthcare
Healthcare Management
Universal Healthcare Management Systems, Inc.
(UHMG-OTC)
Anyone who has read our business plan has fallen in love with the company. We have
been a doctor-based company and 75-95% of our investments have been from doctors, which I
think is phenomenal because it is saying that the medical community has faith in this. If
the doctors and the medical community have faith in us, I think the people at-large should
also. - Kenneth N. Hankin
Financial
Savings Banks
Franklin Bank Corp. (FBTX-NASDAQ)
We believe any of the institutions that we want to buy have done a great job in the
community and the owners and directors should stay in some capacity. We created advisory
boards, which allow us to continue to prospect for new opportunities and new employees and
customers in the community. We are going to continue the community bank philosophy and
name and just provide capital, a better technology, and more products. - Anthony
Nocella
Financial Insurance
Property and Casualty
Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc. (MIG-NYSE)
Most companies shy away from the small/medium sized business because they cant
efficiently handle the back office. With our technology and our processing advantage, we
are able to do that. I think that is one of the major challenges that we have been able to
overcome, and it is a barrier to entry for a lot of companies trying to compete with
us. - Robert S. Cubbin
January 15, 2004
Energy & Technology
Energy
Oil/Gas Exploration
Aspen Exploration Corporation (ASPN-OTC)
Aspen has a 24-year operating history; we are very solid, honest, and well respected
by our peers (the other oil and gas
companies) service companies and the land owners. We
pay all of our bills quickly. We are a well-run company with little debt and we have good
existing production and good prospects to drill in the future. We are a natural gas
producer and natural gas prices are extremely high now with good prices forecast for
months and hopefully years to come. - Bob Cohan
Aspen is a company with two full time employees and a market cap of about five
million dollars or so. Most companies our size might drill one or two wells a year, while
Aspen is able to drill five or six wells a year in addition to achieving some production
acquisitions. For a company our size, that is considered aggressive. We are efficient and
well-run and we are able to do quite a bit with a small staff. - Bob Cohan
*****AspenExplorationWR
Technology
Computer Peripherals
SAND Technology Inc. (SNDT-NASDAQ)
Many people think of business intelligence in terms of managers looking at
cubes of data, which are predefined data subsets they have been given to work
with. The problem with this approach is that it presupposes that the answer is in the
subset. The SAND Analytic Server allows organizations to think
"outside-the-cube" because we dont put those restrictions on them; we give
them unrestricted access to all the relevant business data. - Robert Thompson
January 2, 2004
Mining, Consumer Cyclical &
Financial
Mining
Diamond Exploration
North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NSDM-Pink Sheets)
North Star Diamonds has a very good management team. We have a slow burn out rate;
that means that our over-head is very low. We are under valued in the market as far as I
am concerned. Plans are to become fully
reporting in early 2004 and apply for OTC:BB listing.
We have some of the best people and we have one of the worlds foremost
satellite imaging area experts, and he has pointed out where we should be going. Since the
early 1970s I have been interested in diamonds and have a vast knowledge of the type of
area where and what we should be looking for. I actually feel that we have the best
management team in the industry for a small cap company. I feel the benefits of the
approach we have taken will become apparent in the near future. - Walter Stunder
*****NorthStarDiamondsWR
Consumer Cyclical
Apparel/Accessories
Perry Ellis International Inc. (PERY-NASD)
We have begun to have brands that appeal to women. We acquired the Jantzen®
swimwear business from VF Corp. about eighteen months ago and with that we picked up
licenses to produce Tommy Hilfiger® and NIKE® swimwear, which are primarily womens
wear. So that gives us some access to the womens market and gets us out of just
being a mens wear company. It gives us the opportunity to expand the Jantzen brand
in resort wear and womens sportswear. We just acquired a company called Redsand®,
which is a surf brand and we are hoping we can expand that to juniors and we have another
company called Original Penguin®, which is a retro young mens line and there seems
to be a good demand for a junior line there. There are opportunities to acquire brands in
juniors or missies or various areas. - Timothy Page
Financial
Banks
Taylor Capital Group, Inc. (TAYC-NASD)
I feel fortunate to be an owner of this company, and to have the opportunity each
day to influence our success by being out in the marketplace and talking about our
approach to business banking. We deliver a
depth of understanding that other banks cannot. As
I often explain to both our officers and our customers, we are more than just a loan maker
and deposit taker. Because we understand the
complexities of operating a business ourselves, we can share our experiences, our
advisors, and our resources with our business customers.
In this way, we can help these business owners deal with issues they may be
facing or opportunities they may be embarking upon. This
is the value added component Cole Taylor delivers to our customers and
you just cant get that from the larger banks. - Jeffrey W. Taylor
December 11, 2003
Basic Materials, Financial &
Healthcare
Basic Materials
Chemical Manufacturing
U.S. Microbics Inc. (BUGS.OB)
If you look at the way our technology, which is the technology of the new millennia, vs.
the 1970s or 1980s technology, which is what the competition uses, their philosophy is to
never really fix the problem but to study it and work on it as long as possible to
maximize their revenue. Our philosophy is to get in there and fix it, get paid when we fix
it and move on to the next project. We have a new paradigm shift in terms of solving the
problem and not just masking the symptoms and we do it on a pay for
performance basis rather than a pay for effort basis. Most of the states
will be changing to that philosophy, and we are in the forefront of that. The only way to
execute that philosophy is to use biotechnology. We are seeing a major change in the shift
to clean up contamination. I think we are well positioned for the next twenty years.
- Robert Brehm
*****USMicrobicsWR
Financial
Community Bank
Monarch Bank (MNRK-NASD)
Investors should know that we are well positioned for interest rates when they start
to rise. The balance sheet is very asset sensitive with almost 60% of our outstanding
loans rate-sensitive. The other thing that investors do not know about Monarch is that we
were posed for the future as far as other income. Starting our bank at a time
when rates were at historic lows has helped us because I feel that if we can make money in
this environment, then we can succeed in just about any environment. The last thing is
that we are fanatical about loan quality; we have no loans that are ninety days past due,
no-non accruals and no charge-offs. Since our inception of April of 1999, we have only had
one charge off and that was $500 dollars! - William F. Rountree, Jr.
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Ventana Medical Systems Inc. (VNSI-NASD)
Tissue specimens resulting from any hospital procedure are sent to a histology lab
where a hematoxylin and eosin (or primary) stain is performed. The resulting
stained tissue slide is reviewed by a pathologist who determines whether the tissue is
normal or abnormal. In 80-85% of the cases, specimens are determined to be normal and no
further testing is required. The remaining 15-20% of cases is generally put through a
series of advanced stains in which the pathologist obtains ever more detailed
information to aid in making a diagnosis. Ventanas current generation automated
instrument and reagent systems are used in this advanced staining segment
which comprises three different types of technology; special stains, Immunohistochemistry
(IHC) stains, and In situ hybridization (ISH) stains. We are expecting to launch a new
primary staining system offering entirely new levels of automation in the fourth-quarter
of 2004 - Nicholas Malden
November 20, 2003
Healthcare, Technology, Financial
& Services
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Possis
Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS)
Because AngioJet® is fairly wide spread, we are the leader in mechanical
thrombectomy. I think we have established that it is an important therapy used to treat
people with blood clots and we have over 1100 drive units spread across this nation. That
means that we are in 95% of the top medical centers across the United States and that gets
attention. It means that the leading institutions across this land believe it has been
established as a very important therapy and its uses are increasing and we do everything
we can to support that. Robert G. Dutcher
The good news is that our business continues to grow and the reason is we are better
for the patient. We cause less discomfort,
are safer and we actually can help them get dialysis faster than some of the other
techniques. We have proven there is a valid therapy in removing blood clots and we have
proven that we can make money providing that therapy. Our profitable business model will
attract competition to come in and try to find a way into the business. There are a number
of smaller, and larger, companies nibbling at the edges of our business. So, our markets
are never locked up. - Eapen Chacko
*****PossisMedical03WR
Technology
Scientific and Technical Instruments
MFIC Corporation (OTC: MFIC)
We have come a long way in the pharmaceutical and biotech areas. We have been the
equipment of choice in performing cell disruption in the biotech industry and there are
few biotech companies today that do not use it for that application, as well as for
efficient formulation development. We believe that you cannot do modern day formulation
without a MicrofluidizerŇ
laboratory level processor system because of its versatility, its ease of cleaning, its
scalability and its light weight. At only forty pounds, it can be moved easily from place
to place. In other industrial settings, we also bring competitive advantages to users. The
ink-jet ink application is one of the biggest ones in which we are involved. If you use an
ink-jet printer, it is highly likely that the ink was made on a Microfluidizer Processor
System. - Irwin Gruverman
*****MFICCorporation03WR
Financial
Regional Banks
West Coast Bancorp (Oregon) (WCBO-NASD)
Our strategy is oriented towards taking market share away from larger institutions.
There has been a significant amount of disruption in the marketplace through M&A
activity, and changes in operative paradigms. We have been successful in attracting,
recruiting, and keeping good people so we can grow our share. - Robert D. Sznewajs
*****West CoastBancorpWR
Financial
Community Bank
Monarch Bank (MNRK-NASD)
Investors should know that we are well positioned for interest rates when they start
to rise. The balance sheet is very asset sensitive with almost 60% of our outstanding
loans rate-sensitive. The other thing that investors do not know about Monarch is that we
were posed for the future as far as other income. Starting our bank at a time
when rates were at historic lows has helped us because I feel that if we can make money in
this environment, then we can succeed in just about any environment. The last thing is
that we are fanatical about loan quality; we have no loans that are ninety days past due,
no-non accruals and no charge-offs. Since our inception of April of 1999, we have only had
one charge off and that was $500 dollars! - William F. Rountree, Jr.
*****MonarchBankWR
Financial
Community Bank
New Century Bancorp (NCBN.OB)
Our vision was to provide our community with a bank that would be attuned to the
needs of the customer base in our market. That
has been so successful, that we have been able to expand into other markets. We
anticipated a fifty-million dollar community bank into the end of the third year. At the
end of the third year, we were almost a one hundred-and-fifty million dollar bank. We feel
that we have achieved our goal of being a premiere community bank in our market
area. - John Q. Shaw
Services
Visual Communication Services
Mail-Well Inc. (MWL-NYSE)
We differentiate ourselves with the depth of our services and the depth of our
product line. We have the ability to provide many products and services to many different
locations. Today most of our competitors are one-plant, one-product line operations. If
you look at Mail-Well that has over 85 manufacturing facilities across North America and
many product lines, we are different. - Paul V. Reilly
November 6, 2003
Technology & Financial
Technology
Security
Universal Detection Technology (UDTT.OB-OTC)
It is very competitive and difficult if you want to develop fully proprietary
technology within a small company and then take it to a government sector. However, when
you are in partnership with NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as we are, and you
bring that kind of credibility and science and government backing in partnership with
yourself, that is where you all of a sudden find yourself having a lot of potential for
the future. - Jacques Tizabi
The advantage that the Universal Detection device has is basically three fold.
First, it is faster than any other device out there. It will give you positive results
within 15 minutes of exposure to the Anthrax bacteria. The second advantage that it has is
that it works on its own; you do not need an attendant or a technician to be there
constantly. If there is a positive detection result, it will give off an alarm and notify
the appropriate individual. The third major advantage is that our device never gives false
positive results, which is a serious drawback to the other technologies that are out
there. For example, the PCR DNA based technology can give a positive result from pollen or
other organic material. In contrast, our device only gives a positive result in the
presence of the Bacterial spores. - Amir Ettehadieh
*****UniversalDetectionTechWR
Technology
Artificial Intelligence
Subjex Corporation (SBJX-OTC)
Our biggest challenge initially was to describe how the technology worked. We have
overcome that by putting our own virtual sales agent on our website that literally sells
itself. We have many people that are astounded that they are actually talking to software.
The biggest challenge now is in helping our clients train their implementation. There is a
learning curve that the AI has which lasts two weeks to two months, depending on the
amount of effort put into it. The results of our clients training their implementation are
astounding. The return on investment is one of the greatest selling factors. We have
created our technology, by design to become smarter and therefore more valuable the more
it gets used. - Andrew D. Hyder
Technology
Consumer 3D
Venga Aerospace Systems Inc. (YVY-TSX Venture)
To a certain extent, 3D is a mature market because it has been around since the late
1900s. We are a niche market, but a large one. It is a film-based product and there are 3D
digital cameras that are coming out shortly and we want to market those also. We will
enter into development with the largest retailer in Canada to test market 3D cameras.
Typically, 3D camera users tend to be more upscale and professional. - Hirsh Kwinter
Financial
Commercial Banks
ParkeBank (PKBK-NASD)
If you service someone in the proper manner, they will tell someone else because
they are business people. They say if you are having a problem, go talk to
ParkeBank. For example, we just took on an excellent client who was having
difficulty with a large bank. They were going from this committee to that committee and
the client was getting frustrated. An accounting firm in their area knew of ParkeBank as
being familiar with the construction industry, so they called us. We met with the owner
the next day, they laid out their needs for construction equipment financing and this
Thursday we will get the loan approved and will close it in a week. If you respond
properly, your reputation gets out there and spreads. - Vito S. Pantilione
October 23, 2003
Services, Technology & Basic
Materials
Services
Security Systems and Services
AXCESS Inc. (AXSI-OTC:BB)
This is an exciting time in the security industry, with the entire industry
transitioning through an automation model. As we like to say it will only go digital
once in anyones lifetime and that time is now. That means that there are some
tremendous opportunities for investment success with companies that are positioned
properly. We believe that AXCESS is very well positioned, both in terms of the position in
the security industry as well as with the technology-based solutions we have introduced.
As exciting as anything is the way we have established the business to be very scaleable
and to be able to grow very rapidly. As investors look at AXCESS, I think that we fit the
profile for investors who are looking for those kinds of companies with exciting growth
opportunities. - Allan Griebenow
*****AXCESSIncWR
Technology
Supply Chain Management Software
TECSYS Inc. (TCS-TSX)
At this point, there are a number of players in the market, and everyone has their
unique claim to fame. However, where we believe we stand out is in the area of
integration. There is no other player out there today that has a market-leading
office-side distribution system which is fully integrated with an industrial strength
warehouse management system, coupled with a complete enterprise transportation management
system, accessible through a strategic business intelligence and executive decision making
system, and real-time communications customers and suppliers handled by a feature rich
e-commerce system. In most cases, customers
are forced to choose a group of stand-alone vendors that they hope will work together to
provide the solution and have to manage the integration themselves. Whereas in our case, we provide a single vendor
solution right out of the box fully integrated.
That is our primary claim to fame. As you drill a little deeper, we are the
company in this space that can handle extremely high volumes of transactions. We have one
account that is processing four hundred thousand order lines in a four-hour window each
day. We are also the company with the most flexible rebate tracking system. We have a very
flexible pricing system, and we provide a complete cradle to grave lot control
system, as well as DEA licensing for the pharmaceutical industry, and as a result, almost
40% of our business is in the pharmaceutical space. Our
key market segments include healthcare distribution (pharmaceutical and medical/surgical
supplies distribution), general wholesale (to retail) distribution, and 3PL (third party
logistics) providers. - Peter Brereton
Technology
Computer Services
On2 Technologies, Inc. (ONT-AMEX)
We sell software that allows people to compress video and send and receive it on
things like computers, television sets, cell phones and other devices. We take video and
film, which is really a bunch of still-shots that are put together at a rate faster than
the human eye can detect, and using algorithms break them down into electronic bits, so
that they can be sent through relatively narrow gateways on the cable modem telephone. It
is reconstructed on the other end to look the same way to the human eye as it would if it
were the original video or film. Over the last fourteen years, this company has
specialized in that process of deconstructing and reconstructing videos over great
distances and relatively small pipelines. - Douglas McIntyre
Technology
Software and Programs
MapInfo Corp. (MAPS-NASD)
We are a hundred million dollar software company, which has weathered a brutal
downturn in the telecommunications and IT spending environment. Two years later we are
profitable at the same revenue level and having to restructure our entire business. We
have a strong franchise on a global basis with hundreds of thousands of loyal global
users. We have steady growth on that core business moving forward. We also have some
significant opportunities ahead. Wi-Fi and Homeland Security could be significant for
MapInfo. However, we are not counting on explosive growth in any one area. If we see the
potential moving forward, we will invest aggressively, like we have done in the past. I
think any potential investor should know that we are a company that has weathered the
downturn and it has been very tough for software companies our size, and many of them have
really struggled as we did, but we are out of it. We are profitable with growth
opportunities ahead of us. - Mark Cattini
Basic Materials
Metal Mining
North American Palladium (TSX: PDL) (AMEX: PAL)
We currently have a long-term contract with a major automobile manufacturer that
includes a price protection. This year our average price will be around $440.00 per ounce.
Next year it may fall off to a low of $325.00 if the spot price does not come back up. Our
long-term contract goes through the middle of 2005. Palladium and platinum belong to a
group of metals have some unique properties, such as the ability to hold hydrogen and the
ability to convert exhaust gases to a less harmful gas. I doubt use of palladium in
catalytic converters will go down because they are beginning to use those things in Asia.
As we move forward with catalytic converters in places like China, Viet Nam, Thailand and
those areas, you are going to see actual usage go up. This is long term and there are
other uses coming along such as energy storage and fuel cells. - Andre Douchane
October 9, 2003
Healthcare,
Aerospace Technology, Technology, Services & Finance
Healthcare
Biotechnology
CytoGenix, Inc. (CYGX-OTC)
People should not invest in our company unless they have the intent to put some
effort into understanding our technology, and then they should follow the way we are
developing scientifically. I think if people do that, they will recognize that we have an
enormously broad platform that is approachable. We have a business model that we think is
beginning to work. We have been in business with this technology for about four years,
which is a short time for most Biotechs. We think that in our next round of funding we
will get enough money to get a couple of our formulations into clinical trials. If we do,
we will see success in our licensing to larger corporations that will be able to take us
the rest of the way through the FDA. I advise people to look at our track-record, and look
at our future plans to see whether we keep our promises. - Dr. Malcolm Skolnick
Aerospace Technology
Aircraft Maintenance
Renegade Venture Corporation (RDVN-OTC)
If you are not high quality there are problems with the FAA. Our competitors have a
much higher overhead structure than we have. Senior management here, wear a number of
different hats and we only add overhead when we know we have the business. The other edge
is that we have recently just broken into the international aircraft trading business. One
of the things we spoke about in interviews last year is that we needed to do that in order
to capture our market. If you are able to supply the aircraft to your customers and supply
them with maintenance attached, you will ensure your future business. - Ian Herman
Technology
Computer Services
Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc. (AMEX: PNS)
We see growth across many of the markets we serve, especially where OEMs have cut
resources over the past couple of years, are maintaining an internal set of core
engineering competencies and are out-sourcing their specialty engineering needs. -
John D. Bair
Services
Business Services
DiamondCluster International (DTPI-NASD)
We are seeing a sharp pick up in demand. Most observers believe that because we are
a company that works with large companies, and we work at seniors levels and our work has
a high planning component in it, most observers would think that we are early in the
cycle. I think that as we see the sharp shift in demand, my sense is that it is good news
for the technology industry in general. It certainly is an indication that the economy is
picking up and businesses are beginning to think about spending again. Mel E.
Bergstein
Financial
Commercial Banks
Northeast Bancorp/ME (NBN-AMEX)
Our number-one strategy is to serve three main constituents. Our employees, our
customers, and our shareholders. We work for the shareholders and our strategy is always
to be mindful of their needs and to deliver superior earnings, but more importantly, to
deliver a fair and competitive dividend and at the same time leaving us sufficient capital
to grow the company and support the buy back of our shares. - James Delamater
Finance
Banks
VSB Bancorp, Inc. (VSBN-OTC)
VSB has been around for about five-and-a-half years; the Bancorp owns Victory State
Bank, which is a commercial bank headquartered with all branches on Staten Island. The
need for a small bank to serve professional and commercial customers as opposed to
consumers is based on the ability to know your customers better. This allows you to
service their needs better, and make commercial loans to brand new businesses and to
retail businesses that never show a profit but have been around for a long time and always
pay their bills, but dont demonstrate; in their financial statements the ability to
repay debt. That capacity is lost in larger banks that now do computer-based screening for
loan applications, so if you dont pass the screening, you dont get the loan.
While commercial loan officers in those banks, are entitled to override those screenings;
they do so at their own peril; if they are wrong, they have to justify the decision.
- Merton Corn
September 25, 2003
Financial,
Enterprises & Technology
Financial
Regional Banks
Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. (SUSQ-NASD)
We have a well-rounded management team that spans the bank side and the non-bank
side. We have a very solid history of earnings and dividend growth. We are in one of the
top market areas in the United States from a demographic and population growth standpoint.
We have developed, over a long period of time, a very strong credit culture where our net
charge-offs, in good and bad times, are better than our peers. We earn about 35 cents on a
dollar in fee income. We have developed a passion and excitement about who we are, what we
are. We have a rapidly growing sales culture. Most of all, we have a shareholder-focused
strategic plan in which all the components of what we do from a strategy standpoint
revolves around the creation of shareholder value. - William Reuter
*****SusquehannaBancsharesWR
Financial
Banks
Northern States Financial Corp. (NSFC-NASD)
We acquired Round Lake Bankcorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, First State
Bank of Round Lake last Thursday, which was September 11th. It is a profitable bank that
is a mirror to our bank with two locations and a full staff. We are very pleased to have
the opportunity to purchase it. Northern States will add a hundred and ten million dollars
in assets from these two locations. - Fred Abdula
*****NorthernStatesFinancialWR
Enterprises
Service Providers
Packeteer, Inc. (PKTR - NASD)
What differentiates us is primarily in our very deep classification at Layer 7. Our
ability to literally classify an operation is somewhere in the order of 400 different
applications that give our customers great insight of what is running on their network,
and the specific technology that we use in setting policies for controlling those
applications, which is patented technology called TCP Rate Control. We do not let data
depart until we know it can land and that ability to provide granular rate control across
the network gives our customers a predictability in being able to prioritize or block or
minimize unwanted traffic, and that is different than our competition. - Dave Cote
Technology
Computer Services
Verticalnet, Inc. (VERT-NASD: SC)
The Verticalnet of today is a company focused on developing leading solutions in a
high growth market. The strategic sourcing space is the next area that corporations are
looking for to drive value and enable them to become more strategic in terms of how they
manage their relationships with suppliers. This sector is predicted to be the highest
growth sector in software over the next three to four years. We are extremely well
positioned from a product and company standpoint with market-leading customers that
include IKEA, Lowes, Valvoline, and MasterBrand Cabinets. We have a management team
that has taken on the challenges that we faced financially and from a business standpoint,
and have achieved a tremendous amount in a short time. - Nathanael Lentz
Technology
Computer Hardware
SteelCloud, Inc. (SCLD-NASD)
The network security market is one in which we have significant experience and
insight. We knew that CA (Computer Associates
International, Inc.)(NYSE: CA) had some very good software products in the security arena,
however, unlike many of their competitors, none of CAs security products were
available as ready-to-deploy appliances. As a
result, CA had lost significant market share to competitors who sell their software as
fully integrated appliances that deliver immediate ROI to the end user customer. We were
very familiar with CAs competition, and knew we could develop an appliance that was
superior to the competition. So we introduced
CA to this concept. They may very well have
been thinking internally of a plan along those lines.
Anyway, we took the initiative, formed a team (which includes Microsoft). The result was that we launched our family of
SteelCloud/CA co-branded security appliances at the CA World Convention in Las Vegas. The reception by CAs worldwide group of
channel partners was tremendous. - Thomas Dunne
Technology
Superconductors
Superconductive Components, Inc. (SCCI-OTC)
What potential investors may not know is that the company has realigned itself
toward manufacturing. We believe that Lithium the Thin Film battery area is an area that
is going to take off rapidly in the next year to eighteen months, so applications like
active RFID tags would be in potential use because these batteries are very small and
discreet. Power supplies, battery on a chip, would be another application. With only the
required chips sets up and running, you would be able to manage your energy needs by
turning chips on and off as needed. Smart cards are another area where these batteries
have real potential. From the heels of that, we believe that superconducting materials are
finally beginning to take hold and will become a real business within the next three to
five months. - Dan Rooney
Technology
Electro-luminescence
GloTech Industries, Inc. (GTHI-OTC)
Our goal is to replace reflective materials on vests with electroluminescent lamps.
We believe this technology provides superior visibility to the product because it does not
need an outside light source and does not need to be viewed from a certain angle. We are
working actively on standards for safety vests. We
believe that the large companies that provide reflective material are our competition. On
the other hand, we like to work with manufacturers that make vests, and we do not envision
ourselves manufacturing the vests. Our strategy is to enter into license agreements with
those manufacturers to have them do what they know best, which is making vests with our
technology. - Heinz Fraunhoffer
September 11, 2003
Business Services, Services, Technology, Capital
Goods Industrial Products & Mining
Business Services
Services
Precision Auto Care (PACI - NASD)
We have a heritage and culture of being under the hood, so we have a serious
advantage over somebody who has been focused under the car or on mufflers or brakes. It is
a lot easier to go from under the hood to under the car; under the hood is getting more
complicated. A car today is about 20% electronic, and in five years, it will be 40%
electronic. If you dont have that under-the-hood culture throughout your system, it
takes a while to change that culture. - Louis N. Brown Jr.
Services
Real Estate Operations
FirstService Corporation (FSV - TSX) (FSRV NASDAQ)
Whether we are looking at the Residential Property Management area, Security,
Consumer Services or our Business Services area, we have what we refer to as platform
investments, which are larger investments in these areas. Many of these are geographic
specific. In virtually all of our businesses, the senior management teams are also
partners, so they retain a direct ownership interest in those businesses; they have a
direct investment in the businesses they manage on a day-to-day basis. We are big
proponents of variable, performance driven compensation and incentives. Whether on a
short-term basis, such as annual bonuses, or a longer-term basis, through equity
ownership, there is a high degree of motivation to ensure that they are managing and
providing service at an optimal level and that allows them to continue to retain customers
and grow their businesses. - John Friedrichsen
*****FirstServiceCorpWR
Healthcare
Spa Industries
Current Technology Corp. (CRTCF:OTC)
When my wife and I co-founded the company, we saw this technology platform as one to
be directed at males and I think that was probably a reasonable assumption on a first look
basis. However, as we have gotten further into it we feel it is going to be
significant for women and are very excited about its prospects. Definitely on the
cosmetic side, this relates to how concerned women are of any issues relating to the
appearance of their hair. - Robert Kramer
*****CurrentTechnologyWR
Technology
Digital Audio Recording Systems
FTR Ltd. (FTR: AX Australian Exchange)
Since changing our focus to a simpler product in 1998, one of the things we have
done very well is convey to customers that this is a transition from cassette tape
recorders to CD. That is all this is about-- nothing fancy, not a revolution but simply an
evolution, which is a good message for the pragmatic person; and courts tend to be very
traditional and very pragmatic. FTR is the market leader. We spend an extraordinary amount
of time talking to our niche market, we are at every trade show and we have been in every
publication for the past five or six years now. Therefore, I think you would be hard
pressed to find a court system in North America that was not aware of us. - Steve
Townsend
Capital Goods
Capital Goods-Misc.
Cycle Country Accessories Corp. (ATC - AMEX)
We are in a growing industry, and it has grown through the years when many
industries have suffered. If we look at ATV sales, our business has mirrored the number of
ATVs that are sold and those sales just keep going up every year. We have been able to
continue to develop new products for the ATV industry, and we feel as these products hit
the market, our company will benefit financially. We have been successful at developing
some strategic alliances with OEMs in the lawn and garden industry, which is going to
allow us to expand beyond our traditional ATV industry. Further, our entrance onto the
AMEX, opens our stock to many more brokers and potential investors. That is going to
be a good thing for us, for the value of our stock, and long-term investments in our
company. - Ronald Hickman
Industrial Products
Fuel Storage Cylinders
Dynetek Industries Ltd. (DNK - TSX)
What we build is storage systems and the storage systems begin with the tank. The
tank is an aluminum and carbon fiber light-weight cylinder that we build right here in our
facility and in Europe. It is everyday aluminum; we buy it at Alcoa Inc. in the United
States. On a global basis, this business is very regulated and subject to certification in
every country. The point to be made is that it is not something you can build in your
garage and sell it the next day. It takes anywhere from twelve to twenty-four months to
gain these certifications so you can actually begin to sell these products in the market
place. We see ourselves and our product as a market leader for light-weight containers,
which is really due to our proprietary process to thin the wall of our liner. The lighter
wall means thinner application, so in some cases we can use three cylinders where our
competitors use four or five, which is more costly and more weight. That is the value
proposition that we provide to our customers. - Robb Thompson
Mining
Gold and Silver Exploration
Kimber Resources, Inc. (KBR-TSX Venture)
I think the key fact is that we have an emerging resource, which does not depend on
an increase in the price of gold or silver. There are risks remaining, of course, but we
have been looking for the fatal flaw in this deposit for two-and-a-half years now, and we
have not found it. - Robert Longe
Technology
Healthcare Claims Processing
ClaimsNet.com Inc. (CLAI.OB-OTC BB)
Our target customer is what is generically called the payer community of the
healthcare business, which means third-party administrators, preferred provider
organizations, HMOs and insurance carriers, as well as some self-insured large employers.
They go to their high-volume paper providers and tell them that there is a better way to
do things and that they will get paid faster, have less work and we will be much happier.
The payers sponsor us into the provider offices. - Don Crosbie
August 28, 2003
Business
Services, Technology & Services
Business Services
Services
Precision Auto Care (PACI - NASD)
We have a heritage and culture of being under the hood, so we have a serious
advantage over somebody who has been focused under the car or on mufflers or brakes. It is
a lot easier to go from under the hood to under the car; under the hood is getting more
complicated. A car today is about 20% electronic, and in five years, it will be 40%
electronic. If you dont have that under-the-hood culture throughout your system, it
takes a while to change that culture. - Louis N. Brown Jr.
*****PrecisionAutoCareWR
Technology
Energy Management
Power Efficiency Corp. (PREF-OTC)
Our strategy is to identify the applications, where our technology provides the
maximum energy savings. We first measure the power used by a motor without our controller
and then run the same application with our controller installed. Customers can see the savings. Testing has shown
that escalators and elevators are a perfect application. We manufacture private label
controllers for OTIS, KONE and SCHINDLER in this sector. Successful test results on
granulators used in the plastic industry have led to the recently announced marketing
arrangement and joint venture with Rapid Granulator a leading manufacturer of granulators. Our preliminary tests on oil and gas pump jacks
have been very encouraging. We identified this application for testing because pump jacks
are fully loaded only on the up stroke. After we prove our technology in a sector we focus
are sales efforts in high energy areas maximizing our customers ROI. Many states
with high electricity costs provide incentives and rebates that help offset the cost of
our controllers further increasing customers ROI. - Richard Koch
Technology
Communications Equipment
ViewCast.com, Inc. (VCST - OTC)
We believe video is going to be ubiquitous in a business environment, so we continue
to invest in ways to make the video user experience as easy as possible. We want the user
interfaces to be intuitive and easy to use. That is our main focus; we believe we have an
excellent hardware platform, so we are moving toward application software where we
continue to deliver value that will make the use of video compelling. - George Platt
Technology
Emerging Growth Technologies
Consortium Service Management Group, Inc. (CTUM-OTC)
The tissue bonding technology has been referred to as the Holy Grail of the surgery
industry. We would not want to speculate on how long it will take to get it into the
mainstream marketplace of the western world but we are moving forward with plans to begin
regulatory work in the US and International markets. Today we have done over a thousand
successful human surgeries and we are currently running at the rate of 80 to 100 new
surgeries per month. We are constantly expanding into different types of procedures for
different types of organs. The procedures so far have involved the bonding and
reconnecting of incised or separated human tissues in the following body areas - nasal
septum, neurosurgery, intestine, stomach, skin, gall bladder, liver, spleen, blood
vessels, nerves, alba linea, uterus, fallopian tube, ovary and testicles - while restoring
the normal function of the body organ or tissue. Surgeons tell us that they are able to
reduce the amount of surgery time. The healing is, in their opinion, faster and there is
very little scar tissue that you can see with the naked eye. In most instances where it is
used, we get a leak-proof bond so there is no leakage. - Donald S. Robbins
Technology
Communications Equipment
Phazar Corp. (ANTP - NASD)
A few things have seriously damaged the financial performance of the company over
the last three years, but the company still has a relatively strong balance sheet and
certainly has had a record of strong historical profits in its core business, which is the
antenna products business. We are turning back to that. - Gary Havener
Services
Business Services
Ventiv Health, Inc. (VTIV - NASD)
Ventiv has been consistently profitable for five quarters. If you look at our recent new clients wins, Ventiv
is poised to steadily strengthen its results as we move forward through the balance of
2003 and beyond. We are now a highly focused
organization, having divested some non-core and unprofitable businesses, and focused on
execution and delivering results for our clients. In
addition, our balance sheet is very strong, and from a valuation perspective, Ventiv is
particularly attractive for investors. - Eran Broshy
August 7, 2003
Healthcare,
Services, Consumer Products, Consumer Cyclical, & Technology
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Analyst Interview covering:
Possis Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS)
Mr. Chad Simmer, CFA
Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard
In terms of the mechanical thrombectomy market place, Possis Medical is the only
company out there now that has an FDA approved device for removing thrombus from the
coronary arteries. From that standpoint, I think the company is well positioned. Clearly,
one could argue that their primary competition might be drugs rather than other devices.
There are other devices that could be used to remove thrombus, although at this point,
Possis seems to have the most effective technology. - Mr. Chad Simmer, CFA, Miller
Johnson Steichen Kinnard
Analyst-PossisMedical03WR*****
Services
Communications Services
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX-NASD)
I think the thing that any investor should walk away with is that our neutral model
is proving to be the right business model for outsourced Internet infrastructure and
managed co-location services, and this is driving successful growth for our company. The
proof points are there in the numbers we have established. - Peter Van Camp
Services
Business Services
Central Parking Corporation (CPC-NYSE)
I am back, and I think I know this business better than anyone has ever known the
parking business, and certainly better than anyone does today. . . I feel very confident
that we will be able to bring this company back to the prominence that it once held and
once delivered to stock holders. - Monroe Carell, Jr.
Consumer Products
Food Processing
High Liner Foods Incorporated (HLF - Toronto)
We have a sub-category up in Canada of natural portions of products like salmon,
sole, cod and haddock, which are lightly coated and flavored. We call that the High Liner
Signature line and it has done extremely well in Canada over the last three or four years.
We took the best products from that line such as salmon in creamy dill sauce, salmon in
roasted garlic and herbs or scallops in a lime salsa marinade and introduced them to the
Club Channel. Products like that are very much restaurant quality in nature but very
simple to prepare for the consumer. We like to talk about one-step cooking where you set
your oven or microwave with a time and a temperature and when the beeper or buzzer goes
off, the products are finished. They are not only easy to cook but are very delicious. We
took those products and adopted them to the Club Channel and have been selling
aggressively to both Costco and Sams Club for the last two years. In 2002, our sales
were thirty-three million Canadian dollars. That is from a standing start two years ago,
so we have had a lot of success there and these products really respond to what consumers
are looking for today. They want to eat more seafood but they do not want to take the time
or risk involved with preparation. We give them a great tasting product without the
worries. - Henry E. Demone
Consumer Cyclical
Furniture and Fixtures
Mity Enterprises Inc. (MITY-NASD)
MITY is a small public company, but our growth has consistently outpaced the
industry throughout our history. In an industry where there are not a lot of
interesting and new things going on, we have been innovative. We introduced the plastic
table and we are getting ready to introduce a new generation of plastic tables. We have a
folding chair with six patents and we are focusing on continuing to develop new products
to challenge existing products. In an industry that traditionally has been not nearly as
growth oriented, we have a focus on that growth. Because of the market that we focus on,
we are able to command higher margins. We typically have a 15-20% operating margin, where
others in our industry typically are often in the single digits or just over 10% yielding
a real opportunity there for investors. - Paul Killpack
Technology
Software & Programming
Catalyst International, Inc. (OTC: CLYS.OB)
There are two major areas that set us apart from the competition. One is our unique
relationship with and our understanding of ERP environments. Most of our customers today
are looking to find ways to better use the large investment they have made in IT
infrastructures over the last five years. Because we can completely integrate rather than
just simply interface our products into those environments, and because we understand
those environments better than anyone else, we can help our customers to grow into these
smaller capital investments and significantly improve the ROI (Return On Investment) of
larger investments they have made in the recent past. The second thing is we have unique
expertise and execution capabilities that cut across multiple products in heterogeneous
environments. This allows us to work with our customers to get the best possible
performance from their supply chains and thereby better serve their customers through
improved delivery, performance and accuracy. We are always out there scanning the
environment, looking for what new techniques are available. We are very focused on the
success of our customers as our primary objective. - James B. Treleaven
July 24, 2003
Technology,
Consumer Cyclical, Services, Finance, Healthcare & Mining
Technology
Ultracapacitors
Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (MXWL-NASD)
Ultracapacitors are a novel energy storage technology. Three to five years ago, if we went to a battery
conference and wanted to talk about the value of ultracapacitors, we would have been the
lone voice. Today, ultracapacitors are becoming a standard energy storage option; in fact,
numbers of manufacturers are designing them into their applications and there are now
worldwide ultracapacitor conferences. Increasingly over the past six to twelve months,
companies are coming to us and saying, we now understand the value these devices
provide for energy storage applications, and we want to see how we can incorporate them
into our system. It has changed from an evangelistic mode of telling them what the
technology is to the beginnings of supplying a standard, proven, technology product.
- Richard D. Balanson, Ph.D.
*****MaxwellTechnologiesWR
Consumer Cyclical
Supplemental
Educational Products
School Specialty, Inc. (SCHS - NASD)
I think investors should know that we have had a good track record in our five years
of being a public company. We have never missed our earnings numbers. We are a very
conservative and predictable company. We are in the segment of the education market that
is very reliable even when the funding environments get a little rough. We perform, and we
are consistent. We have purchased over forty-five companies in the last ten years; there
were a couple that didnt fit us as well that we sold off. We are very good at
integration, and we put the companies together and create new value that way. We are at
15% market share and we have a long way to grow; we are about seven or eight times larger
that our next competitor. We trade at a relatively low P.E. today, and I think it is a
good opportunity for investors right now. - David J. Vander Zanden
Services
Retail (Department Stores)
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (DLTR-NASD)
We have a concept that people like, and we have the people, infrastructure and cash
in place to continue to demonstrate consistent profitable growth. Further, there is room
to grow; we have less than 2,500 stores now, and there is room for five to seven thousand
more stores. That growth makes us attractive to investors. - Bob Sasser
Finance
Insurance
Brooke Corporation (AMEX: BXX)
Insurance agencies in general have had a difficult time accessing credit because
there is not anything tangible to grab onto and liquidate if necessary. In this type of
industry it is extremely important that there be a good business model so those revenues
keep flowing in. With the assurances of continued revenue flow, which is what a good
business model generally provides, then the lending can become more secure. I think the
banks that are traditional lenders have backed away from that kind of lending in
todays environment and the nature of the collateral is one of the reasons. -
Robert D. Orr
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals (OTCBB: RGRX)
The market itself is segmented because there are many different types of chronic
wounds. It is in desperate need of a product that can help promote, repair and accelerate
the healing of these wounds, which occur for various reasons. Some become chronic, as opposed to acute or
short-term, due to factors such as aging or if patients have underlying diseases such as
diabetes. In these instances wounds do not heal very well or may not heal at all. Patients
may have a genetic or autoimmune disorder, or they may be on steroids; all these factors
can cause chronic wounds or affect their ability to heal. The market needs a product that
can help accelerate the healing of wounds. In
animal models that are designed to mimic the human condition, Tß4 has shown to be quite
effective in promoting wound healing and in accelerating the closure of dermal and ocular
wounds. - J.J. Finkelstein
Mining
Exploration and Development
Anatolia Minerals Development Ltd. (ANOU-TSX)
Several things set us apart from other companies in this sector. We are focused
strictly on one very prolific country, Turkey, which has been largely overlooked, and we
have the dominant land position for exploration. We have an extremely highly regarded team
of exploration professionals, all of which are Turkish. Our local knowledge and expertise
allow us to execute things in the right way, and we have been very successful. Given the quality of our properties and our joint
venture with one of the worlds premiere mining companies, I see a lot of potential. We are well financed, management has significant
equity ownership, and there is a lot going for Anatolia. - Richard C. Moores
July 10, 2003
Technology,
Consumer Cyclical, Consumer Non-Cyclical, Energy, Online Travel & Services
Technology
Scientific & Technical Instruments
Input/Output, Inc. (IO - NYSE)
Potential investors looking at the company should not see it as just an equipment
supplier. They need to put it into the context of what is going on in geophysical imaging.
The oil and gas business is driven by technology. Seismic imaging is right at the heart of
finding oil and gas. Even though the seismic contracting business has hit a tough time,
the demand for oil and gas is still going to go up about 50-60% over the next 15-20 years,
even with all the alternate energy sources coming on. Seismic imaging is going to be a
critical technology going forward. People who have that technology will be well
positioned. Potential investors should put it into the context of the industry and what
technologies drive the industry, and they will see it as a real opportunity. -
Robert Peebler
*****InputOutputIncWR
Consumer Cyclical
Auto and Truck Manufacturers
Spartan Motors, Inc. (SPAR: NASD)
The first thing that people need to look at is the growth opportunity. In our two
core markets of RV and emergency rescue, we only have 5% market share and that is in the
U.S., which means we have a tremendous amount of opportunity to grow. When they look at
our financial performance over the last seventeen years, and our balance sheet and
debt-free structure, what that indicates is that as a company, we have been able to work
through some very difficult economic situations, yet grow and prosper; 2001 and 2002 are
no different. As I look at investment, I try to look at the soundness of the management
team and whether their growth is in the future or are they into a mature market. As
investors look at us, they see a tremendous amount of room for growth, and they see very
sound financial management. - John Sztykiel
Consumer Cyclical
Recreational Products
Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (RUS-NYSE)
RUSS isnt just selling products. We are selling love, affection and
friendship. I recently emailed our employees and sent a picture of soldiers in the gulf
war clutching teddy bears. In this changing world, one constant will always be love and
affection and wherever there is love and affection, there is a place for RUSS
products. - Angelica Berrie
Consumer Non-Cyclical
Food Processing
Horizon Organic Holding Corp. (HCOW - NASD)
We think the most compelling reason to be interested in Horizon Organic, is that the
brand is in-trend and extendable. The organic food industry has been growing over 20%
annually for the last five years and this growth is projected to continue. Our brand is
benefiting from that consumer momentum at least as much as the market and will probably
benefit more because of the strength of the brand. Consumers have told us that we can take
the brand anywhere in the grocery, which means this business can be substantially larger. In addition, throughout our recent growth, Horizon
Organic has demonstrated the ability to perform on a consistent basis in terms of
delivering meaningful earnings growth. - Chuck Marcy
Energy
Oil & Gas Operations
St. Mary Land & Exploration Company (SM - NYSE)
It is very difficult to predict exactly where that next success is going to come
from. However, having very talented people in the field, with decentralized decision
making, permitting them to look for opportunities backed by a strong balance sheet, plus a
disciplined approach to economics, allows each region to hold its own year-after-year and
periodically to achieve a major success. - Mark A. Hellerstein
Online Travel
Travel & Hospitality
VRX Worldwide Inc. (VRW TSX Venture)
As in all industries there are technology providers and service providers,
were a little bit of both. We customize third-party software to enable us to deliver
the highest quality and best performing content technically possible. This is our
competitive advantage and allows us leapfrog ahead of the market by focusing on the end
product. In order to provide the best quality and best performing content, our efforts go
well beyond the technology and the photography behind our products; it is everything that
we do from shooting, to stitching, to editing, to delivery that gives us our full
competitive advantage. We have spent the past three years perfecting our processes and the
technology. We feel confident that these efforts have created significant barriers to
entry for any future competitors. - David S. MacLaren
Services
Retail/Internet
Stamps.com, Inc. (STMP - NASD)
We offer a complete service to our customer base. Within the area of printing
postage from a home printer, we offer several variations of that. For small businesses
that do mass mailings, they have the ability to print directly on envelopes. With a
product by the name of NetStamps, you can have the
ability to print stamps on a sheet of labels. We have a shipping focused solution that
allows you to print 4x6 shipping labels on a plain piece of paper for a package, and
simply tape it to the package and hand it to the mail carrier. We also offer an array of
office products that compliment the service that we offer, such as scales and
envelopes. - Ken McBride
Technology
Interactive Networks
Axia Net Media Corporation (AXX - TSX)
Smaller markets have not had any access to anything that looks remotely like
broadband or high-performing IP networks. Around the modern world, that has become a
social challenge, because if you want to participate in a job or a business that depends
on having access to broadband, you have to move to the metropolitan spaces, and even
there, the broadband performance leaves something to be desired. The Alberta government
concluded that this new next-generation format would allow it to provide a two-pronged
solution. One prong would make broadband available in the smaller markets in Alberta and
the second prong is that the government itself could get a province-wide network to the
critical social services. We came up with a concept that creates a government enterprise
wide network, so it is ubiquitously connected. - Arthur R. Price
June 26, 2003
Technology,
Healthcare, Business Services, Capital Goods & Energy
Technology
Communications & Equipment
Brooktrout, Inc. (BRKT NASD)
The uncertain business environment, the weak economy, and general risk avoidance
corporations are driving companies to come to Brooktrout. Many of these corporations
are outsourcing technology development to Brooktrout that they have previously developed
internally, not just for our technology, but because of the current business
environment. - Eric R. Giler
Technology
Software & Programming
TenFold Corporation (TENF OTC: BB)
Ours is the fastest and most cost effective technology for building or replacing
very large scale, data base- and transaction-intensive applications. The alternatives,
using traditional methodologies, would take hundreds and possibly thousands of man years
and would be fraught with failure. There is no other solution that is proven and robust,
which provides the speed of development, the quality of application, and the powerful
functionality that a buyer really needs. Our technology empowers a brand new kind of
business and IT collaboration that entirely changes the way businesses conceive, build,
and use applications. The result is applications of higher quality and greater power,
built in a tenth the time and a fraction the cost. - Dr. Nancy M. Harvey
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
dj Orthopedics, Inc. (DJO - NYSE)
A significant number of orthopedic companies are public and the investors that are
with those companies have done very well and so I think that makes our space intriguing.
Our valuation compared to other companies is substantially lower because of the
performance improvement plan we entered into last year. I think that people, who
understand that there is an aging and active population out there, can see the future need
for our products and a future need for our company. - Mr. Leslie H. Cross
Business Services
Consulting
Netgraphe, Inc. (WWW - TSX)
What potential investors should know about Netgraphe is that we keep developing new
types of revenues. I think we can replicate the Star Academy model for our other sites.
This will increase our profitability significantly. We are dominant in Quebec in the
employment, dating service, automotive services. We are looking at real estate as well and
there are several other opportunities for expansion. Our main business sectors are very
profitable and with the coming on-stream of new revenue sources, we should soon be
profitable in the area of content as well. - Bruno Leclaire
Capital Goods
Aircraft Recovery
Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. (BRSI.OB OTC:
BB)
We are very pleased with how strongly we have been able to build the company. We
have a strong balance sheet and great current ratios. We have been able to have nine years
of profitability after a bad streak in the early days. We put together nine years in a
row, on a pre-tax, pre-bonus basis, where we were pushing a million dollars and after
taxes we were still within about $600,000.00 and for a small company like ours that is
about ten cents a share. The P&L is strong, sales are strong, and we have had
great revenue growth here over the last several year. A few years ago we had a 60%
increase and last year we still had an increase in revenues of about 35%. Even with our
most recent quarter, we had an increase of 56% in our revenues. We have just continued to
string together stronger and stronger financial performance here for the last several
years. - Mark Thomas
Energy
Coal
Headwaters Incorporated (HDWR - NASD)
In the ISG business, we have three competitive advantages one is that we have
long-term exclusive contracts for the supply of the coal combustion products. We have
contracts that are 20-25 years in length and they are exclusive, which gives us access to
the supply of these materials that other companies do not have. Secondly, we are the only
company with a national distribution system for these coal combustion products. We have
over thirty terminals that are strategically located throughout the United States that
allows us to distribute the materials directly to our customers. Thirdly, we have a
proprietary chemical reagent that improves the quality of the fly ash that we distribute.
In our other business, we have intellectual property that covers a unique chemical reagent
that is used to treat coal before it is burned and over 50% of the people in this
business, use our chemical reagent, and it provides us with a unique and exclusive
technology that we apply to coal before it is consumed at the electric utilities. -
Kirk A. Benson
Technology
Digital Media Distribution System
Musicrypt Inc. (MCT TSX Venture)
For potential investors our unique value offering is that we have an unrivaled
approach for dealing with the problem of physical distribution of new releases to radio.
We do it faster, more efficiently and more securely than traditional methods. It is a
win-win situation for record companies as well as radio. It makes their work much easier
and less problem prone. As soon as the record labels and radio start using our system,
they save time and money. - John Heaven
June 12, 2003
Technology,
Financial, Basic Materials, Consumer Products, & Healthcare
Technology
Software & Programming
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX - NASD)
I think that from an investment standpoint, that the stock has not been recognized
in terms of the potential upside. Healthcare is at an inflection point; it has to get
automated and become more electronic than it is today. The way to do that is to
empower physicians with real-time information delivered at the point of care. That is what
our business is all about. We addresses not only the quality issue, but also the cost
issue, with applications and technology that works. Thats key to the future of
healthcare. - Glen E. Tullman
Financial
Regional Banks
PremierWest Bancorp (OTC: BB-PRWT)
The strongest area for our bank is our business lending function. We still do it the
old fashioned way of people doing business with people. We have lending limits for each of
our lending officers in the branch system. We can give very quick answers to credit
requests. We are in an economy in southern Oregon and northern California that is growing
contrary to the national market. There are a lot of people moving into this area because
of the safety and soundness of the communities north of Sacramento California to south of
Eugene, Oregon. - John Anhorn
One of the keys is hiring the right managers for the markets that we are in. We have
to have managers that can function in the community bank environment and give the
customers what they want. The hiring of managers with a good attitude is a key portion of
the community bank image. - Richard Hieb
Basic Materials
Forestry & Wood Products
Pope Resources L.P. (POPEZ - NASD)
You can be the best timberland manager in the world, but if you paid too much for
the property, your investment is going to suffer. We have a seasoned management team and
have developed a disciplined acquisition approach, both of which will be critical for our
new $50 million timber fund. We will also be investing side by side with these third party
investors, to both further leverage our own growth capital and to provide superior
alignment of interest with our clients. The fact that we have 112,000 acres of our
own timberland also makes us far less dependent on the fee income associated with this
timber fund than a company that is purely focused on this business. If they do not
consummate transactions, they do not get fees and they cannot pay themselves. We have
something unique to offer by combining our extensive timberland management experience with
third-party investors looking to participate in this asset class. It is just going to be a
function of finding investors out there that match up with our investment
philosophy. - David L. Nunes
Technology
Semiconductors
Brooks Automation, Inc. (BRKS - NASDAQ)
In terms of excellence, Brooks is in some ways running a different race than our
competitors. We do not outsource manufacturing and to us that is one of our core
competencies. The ability to transition products from engineering to manufacturing to
market readiness, whether it is our design or the customers design, requires a
commitment to excellence. You need to adhere to a standard of excellence so that you can
deliver a high quality product on time, every time at a very competitive price. This
industry is technology driven but it is also a very price based industry. That is
where size really matters; as a large company, Brooks can manufacture more cost
efficiently while maintaining its standard of manufacturing excellence. - - Robert
J. Therrien
Consumer Products
Motorcycles/Trikes
Lehman Trikes, Inc. (LHT TSX Venture)
We are growing as fast as we can but like most companies, growth is expensive and
our growth is limited by the financing available to us. We know that growing too fast will
kill us, so we have to avoid that. Harley Davidson did some great things and one of the
things they proved is that being behind on sales is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a
strong marketing tool, which almost feeds on itself. We are just starting to feel that.
Harley went through it in 1985 and they are getting to the point where they are getting
close to meeting demand. We are at the other end of the spectrum and just starting to have
that problem. It has always been a six to twelve week waiting period. This year, in an
effort to reduce the time-lines, we asked the dealers to pre-book orders and inventory so
we could produce in the off-season and avoid the line-up in the spring. It worked too
well. They did pre-book to help us out and what they found was that by having these things
on the floor, they moved out even faster. We did this at our dealer meeting in December,
and by January, we were sold out until the end of March and by February we were booking
August. It was a great idea that worked but it did not solve the problem we initially
sought to solve. It increased our sales substantially and made our dealers much more
comfortable making orders ahead of time, which I am sure will be a benefit to us in the
following year. But it has made the lines and waiting period even longer, which may be an
advantage or a disadvantage depending upon how you look at it. - Larry Strilchuk
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Cypress Bioscience, Inc. (CYPB - NASD)
The message that we always hope investors will take away is that fibromyalgia is a
real medical condition and that there are criteria for its diagnosis. It is a condition
that is treatable and the compound that we have selected has a pharmacological profile
that is very similar to some of the drugs that are currently being used. These very old
drugs are called tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) that have the same sort of preference
for Norepinephrine with some Serotonin activity as milnacipran. But these TCA drugs are
riddled with side-effect problems because of all the other activity that they have. We
selected a compound that is similar pharmacologically to the positive aspects of these
drugs that have been already demonstrated to work in fibromyalgia and in some of the other
functional somatic syndromes, but lacks the side-effect profile. The promise of the
compound goes beyond fibromyalgia. I think sometimes people looking at the company and the
compound do not quite realize the full potential and opportunity that the compound
holds. - Sabrina Martucci Johnson
Technology
Broadband
Andersen Group, Inc. (ANDR - NASD)
As we go forward in Russia, we are looking for a prosperous country, which is
developing a thirsty middle class; one that constantly wants more equipment. The Russian
opportunity is great and the issues dealing with Russia are also very complex. At this
point, with the present stable government, many companies are feeling confident about
investing in Russia. Broadband has been a huge success as far as it being an effective
delivery system for Internet and multiple television services and for telephony; and we
are able to deliver last mile connections and pass a home for about fifty-five dollars.
Support band is a very well known way of distributing media and has been very successful
throughout the world and should be very successful in Moscow. - Francis E. Baker
May 29, 2003
Healthcare,
Energy, Technology, Services, Financial & Consumer-Non-Cyclical
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
Cambridge Heart, Inc. (OTC: BB CAMH)
I have had the pleasure of developing some interesting products that have very high
medical content, that are important to the medical community and to the patients that the
medical community serves. Microvolt T-Wave Alternans is clearly one of those products.
There are three to four hundred thousand sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. each year. It
is the number one cause of death in individuals 45 years and older, and one in seven will
die from it. Most people fall over and die because they hadnt been identified as
being at high-risk. If they knew they were at high-risk they could be protected with an implantable
defibrillator.
The key is that they need to be easily and non-invasively identified. That is where Cambridge Heart and MTWA come in! -
David Chazanovitz
*****CambridgeHeartWR
Energy
Oil & Natural Gas Exploration
Royale Energy, Inc. (ROYL - NASD)
I would say the thing that sets Royale Energy apart is the ability to take the
higher prices and margins resulting from those prices, to put them to the bottom line of
earnings. We have done that. Two years ago when the price spiked, we earned over seventy
cents a share. Every time the price increases, and we have been adding production
consistently; we put that right to the bottom line of earnings, so our earnings per share
is what sets us apart from other oil and gas companies that may be looked at on the basis
of their cash flow and not their earnings. We are able to increase our equity. Oil and Gas
Journal, in their September 2002 issue, listed ROYALE for the fifth time as one of the
twenty fastest growing publicly traded oil and gas companies. We were listed and ranked
number nine on return on equity of over 30%. That is among all publicly traded companies,
form Exxon to Shell and so on. I would say it is our ability to capitalize on higher
prices and production and turn that into profit and higher value for the
shareholders. - Donald H. Hosmer
*****RoyaleEnergyWR
Technology
Financial Software Solutions
SS&C Technologies, Inc. (SSNC - NASD)
What sets us apart from the competition is our deep understanding of our
customers specific business. Using our
consultative approach, we can apply what we know to what makes the most sense for each
customer. Our broad and diverse client base
is a major asset from the point of view of both customers and investors. Last quarter, 68% of our total revenues were
recurring. We are a highly profitable and
focused company with a tremendous amount of expertise. - William C. Stone
Technology
Internet Applications Software
GLS Global Assets Ltd. (GLO TSX venture)
By buying our product for $249.00 dollars, they can build their own website and then
have an e-commerce store and a cataloguing system or accept orders by e-mail or merchant
account. We have provided a whole solution where we provide them with their URL and they
do not have to go to an outside service to establish a web presence. - S. Cedric
Steele
Services
Advertising
Aptimus, Inc. (APTM - OTC)
Generally we are looking for major direct marketers. We go out to them and we ask
them about their goals, what is working for them and what is not working for them. We
build programs around what works for them. The way we approach them is all on a results
basis, so marketers usually say we will pay you x-number of dollars per lead
acquired. If we generate a lot of leads, it results in a lot of money. There is not
much risk for the marketer to get involved. Many of our clients are top 100 or top 500
direct marketers who spend tens of millions of dollars a year on direct marketing. It is
not a matter of them having the budgets; it is about crafting an offer for them that will
work since our system will only promote the offers that work the best. - Timothy
Choate
Financial
Bank Holding Company
NetBank, Inc. (NTBK - NASD)
I challenge you to find a bank in the United States that grew deposits by 46% on an
annualized basis in the first quarter. Or, one with 37% deposit growth last year.
Investors looking at NetBank will see an innovative business model, impressive annual
growth rates and, in my opinion, one of the best management teams in the industry. We have
hundreds of years of banking experience sitting around our operating committee. Were
not a bunch of Internet people who dont know banking. Were bankers who know
the Internet. - Douglas Freeman
Consumer-Non-Cyclical
Food Processing
Imperial Sugar Company (IPSU - NASD)
About 65% of our business is sold to industrial customers, which are companies that
use our sugar in their products, whether they are cereal makers or candy manufacturers.
The best way to create value is to find ways of delivering our product in more efficient
ways. We have recently established a customer logistics team, which is the only one in the
industry as far as I am aware, that is charged with the task of partnering with our
customers and understanding ways of making delivery of our product more efficient to them.
On the consumer side, we need to develop more consumer-friendly packages. Those four-lb.
bags will always be there, but there are plenty of examples of commodity products that are
packaged in a way that is convenient for the customer. The best example is that people
used to buy a head of lettuce and now they can buy lettuce already shredded in bags. The
heads of lettuce are still sold and the four-lb. bags of sugar are still sold, but there
are ways of creating value in the marketplace that can reward us. - Robert A. Peiser
May 15, 2003
Insurance, Financial, Healthcare,
Energy, Services, Technology, Industrial Products & Capital Goods
Insurance
Pets health care plan
Hartville Group, Inc. (OTC: HTVL)
We have focused on a few core things and those things are what we do best. We first
identified that even though this is an insurance policy, we are marketing the product like
any other pet merchandise that a pet owner would buy for their pet. - Russell Smith
III
*****HartvilleGroupWR
Financial
Regional Banks
MidSouth Bancorp Inc. (MSL - AMEX)
I could give you the clichés about how we are a good community bank and we provide
quality service. We work hard on those things just like everybody else, but I think it is
the very dedicated work ethic of our staff that makes the difference. This year as
Chairman of a national bankers association Im traveling a great deal, but I
personally return every phone call the day I receive it. Callers usually receive a
return call within 45 minutes to an hour. Its our goal to be extraordinarily
responsive and we are very competitive in our pricing, which we consider important. We
believe this has led to our success. Our branching network which covers most of south
Louisiana has been very effective. - C. R. Rusty Cloutier
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Vical Incorporated (VICL NASD)
This is a unique company in the sense that Vical Incorporated has a technology
platform that has a variety of applications for drug development. Our drug technology can
be used for making vaccines, the treatment of cancer; can be used for using therapeutic
proteins. It is a breakthrough technology where you basically take a plasmid, which
is a DNA ring encoding a self-antigen or foreign antigen, and have the muscle cell make
whatever youve called for. - Vijay B. Samant
Healthcare Facilities
Healthcare
Bio-Imaging Technologies (AMEX: BIT)
One thing that weve done is that we now have critical mass of both facilities
and people where it allows us to make efficiency changes, which will increase our
operating margins as we move forward. The other real positive thing about our size is when
you are dealing with pharmaceutical companies they really wanted to see size and
stability. These are trials that run from five to seven years on some, so, you do not want
to run with a vendor if there is a risk that vendor will not be here. - Mark L.
Weinstein
Energy
Oil & Gas
Navigo Energy Inc. (TSX: NVG)
We have rebuilt this company, taking advantage of the structural changes that have
taken place in the western Canadian oil and gas community. The Industry has been
restructured by new aggregators and trust companies, by the almost total disappearance of
the mid-cap sector from the basin and by the limited number of people that are our size.
That is a watermark change in the industry and we have repositioned ourselves to take
maximum advantage of that. - Ronald T. McIntosh
Services
Business Services
NexPrise, Inc. (NXPS - NASD)
We provide business process applications that are low-cost, rapidly deployed, and
solve a specific problem. The general method of providing software solutions to companies
has been to go in and dictate a certain method. We go in and identify a customers
process, and then we mimic that process in our application. The result is quick adoption
of a working application and a rapid return on investment. Being able to provide solutions
with obvious short-term benefits is really what sets NexPrise apart, and we have increased
our business significantly. We are up 50% quarter-over-quarter, and the previous quarter,
we were up 100% over the same quarter a year ago. - Ted Drysdale
Technology
IT System - Healthcare
IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc. (NASD: IMPC)
We are the only company in the segment that offers an integrated product that
addresses the different modalities of treatment; some of our competitors have products
that are information solutions for radiation therapy but they dont address
chemotherapy. Another group of our competitors addresses the chemotherapy problem, but
dont address the radiation therapy problem. The vast majority of the patients are
treated with multiple treatment modalities, so the ability to deliver a single integrated
system that address the wide range of therapies used in cancer, has been a significant
entry barrier and competitive advantage for IMPAC. - Joseph K. Jachinowski
Technology
Optical Component
Optical Communications Products, Inc. (OCPI - NASD)
I think one thing that is unique about OCP is, even in this environment, we are
still investing in the company. We are focused on expanding our R&D capability to
ensure that we have the breadth of products to serve into this market. We are also
investing in expanding our sales and marketing force. We believe in the long-run the
market will recover, and once it recovers we could be the front-runner. - Dr. Muoi
V. Tran
Industrial Products
Materials Technology
Cymat Corp. (CYM - TSX)
The technology is what we call SmartMetal but what it is actually
aluminum foam. If you cannot picture that, it is a rigid aluminum sponge. What we do is
take molten aluminum with ceramic particles in it and inject gasses into it, which causes
it to foam up. It is a very interesting material because of its attributes. The main
attribute is that it is very light and strong. This is because it is a structure, not a
material, which makes it very useful for putting it into car frames and anywhere where you
want to reinforce structures and not add a lot of weight. Probably the most important
element of the material is its fast absorption characteristics. If you can imagine a
sponge that has air pockets inside; if you crush something like that, it absorbs a lot of
energy before it becomes a solid. A lot of the early applications that we are looking at
in the auto industry involve bumper applications. So that when you crash into a bumper,
this dissipates a lot of the energy that would otherwise be transferred to the occupant of
the car. It has a lot of other attributes as well. It has acoustic properties; the mining
industry now has acoustic panels. It is fire retardant and fully recyclable. It has
electromagnetic shielding properties so that we are looking at applications to protect
from electromagnetic rays. That is essentially the technology. - Michael M. Liik
Capital Goods
Defense
Metal Storm Limited (MTSX - NASD)
I think the competition in technology is very fierce. Commercial applications and
technology pushes forward and that has a way of pushing weaponry forward. Were it not for
electronics and the ability to electrically fire these multi-stacked cartridges, we would
not be able to have a Metal Storm system. However, at the same time, we believe we are the
only system today that offers this technology and this capability. We have multiple
patents that are already registered and approved throughout the world. We continue to
improve that patent portfolio because for small companies, intellectual properties are
really the family jewels with regard to the ability to commercialize that and
move it forward into the marketplace. - Charles Vehlow
May 1, 2003
Healthcare,
Technology, Mining & Transportation
Healthcare
Biotechnology
Transition Therapeutics Inc. (TTH TSX venture)
The vision of the company was to focus on therapeutics that could change outcomes in
specific diseases where there was a major need and major markets. We focused on diseases
such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and restenosis. We looked for technologies that would
be novel and make a significant impact on the treatment of those diseases. The company
invested significantly into acquiring leading technologies in regenerative therapies for
the treatment of diabetes, stroke and Parkinsons to become a leader in regenerative
therapies which I think represents a new paradigm for the treatment of many of these
diseases. One of these leading regenerative therapies, islet cell neogenesis therapy
(INT), is for the treatment of diabetes currently in Phase I clinical trials. We hope to
be in Phase II by late summer to early fall. This treatment can take a diabetic animal
that is fully dependent on insulin, and reverse the disease to insulin independence with a
14-28 day treatment. We have induced islet cell regeneration in a number of diabetes
animal models and with human islet cell preparations. We hope that we will be able to
reproduce these data in diabetics. - Dr. Tony Cruz
*****TransitionTherapeuticsWR
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
Aradigm Corporation (ARDM - NASD)
We often are looked at as an insulin delivery company or pulmonary insulin company,
and while that is an extremely important part of our business investors need to look at
our entire portfolio of products that are in development. We have, nine programs and eight
of them are contracted with partners. It is going to be growing because we are investing
in that area. We built our business development, and trained all the individuals in that
group and have given them very good targets to go after for additional business for the
company. - Richard Thompson
Technology
CRM Software
Chordiant Software, Inc. (NASD: CHRD)
Many of our clients have significantly reduced operational costs of business with
their Chordiant deployments, driving top-line improvements in a matter of months for rapid
payback. We are fortunate in that we have an established market leadership, and a very
clear technology distinction and solution. We have tremendous strength and
referenceability with the companies that use our products. We allow employees to become
much more effective in terms of servicing end consumers and providing higher service
levels and ultimately increased revenue. - Stephen Kelly
*****ChordiantSoftwareWR
Technology
Network Security
CyberGuard Corporation (CFW - AMEX)
We have one of the most secure products around today. Another distinguishing factor
about CyberGuard is the service we provide. We are a solution provider to our customers.
We go into customer locations and help them solve other problems that they may have in
their network, whether it is routing or switching or other complex issues. We want to make
sure that they have the optimal network setup so their firewall and networks are working
in an optimal fashion to protect their critical information. - Michael Matte
Technology
Biometrics
Precise Biometrics AB (PBMTF OTC: Pink Sheets)
The biometric market is growing with about 30 to 70% a year now. After 9/11 we all
thought that the market was going to show a rapid and tremendous growth, but that did not
happen. The security industry right after 9/11 was zooming but then suddenly it slipped
off again. On explanation could be that the biometric and security issues became strategic
decisions and was moved up to the board level of every major corporation and organization.
That is good news, but the bad news is that once they are at a board level, decisions take
longer. That is why last year there was a lot of slow moving in the biometric market. We
sense now, compared to a year ago, that the projects are bigger, more complex and include
larger volumes. For instance, if we received a quote for one to two thousand units a year
ago, we were all very excited about it. Today when we get a price quote for the same
thing, we feel it is all right, but its not a huge order. Now the excitement would
be for more like twenty to thirty thousand units. That indicates that the market is moving
along. - Christer Bergman
Technology
National Scientific
Corporation (OTC BB: NSCT)
Our story over the last year has been one of a big repositioning into some exciting
growth markets. The company is poised to succeed in terms of revenues and developing
new markets and applications in a way that it hasnt been positioned to do before. I
would encourage all of our shareholders to keep an eye out in the stores this summer for
the Gotcha products. I think they will be impressed with what the company has
done with this new technology design. - Michael Grollman
Technology
Healthcare
WARE Solutions Corporation (TSX Venture: WSN)
Last week we just celebrated our five-year birthday for the company, three years as
a private company and two years as a public company. We are now starting to be recognized
in some areas as the dominant player, while in other areas we are recognized as the
emerging company to beat. We are beginning to reap some of the rewards of success. We are
in the right position at the right time. - John K. David
Mining
Mineral Exploration
Forest Gate Resources Inc. (FGT TSX Venture)
Our diamond property is a four square mile property in central Saskatchewan. It is
highly attractive because it is tied onto the DeBeers-Kensington Resources property in the
area. De Beers, of course, is synonymous with diamonds. We are right beside the DeBeers -
Kensington Resources Ltd. diamond property, one the largest kimberlite bodies in the
world. Kimberlite is the host rock for diamonds. However, just because you find kimberlite
does not mean you will find diamonds, but the chances are greatly enhanced. We are
situated at the periphery of the huge kimberlite field in central Saskatchewan with a
property that has a magnetic anomaly possibly indicative of a kimberlite body. It is an
exciting place to be right now. - Michael Judson
Transportation
Trucking
Dynamex Inc. (DDN - Amex)
Customers use us to move various types of materials, such as documents,
architectural drawings, medical specimens, blood samples, pharmaceutical supplies, auto
parts, computer parts and software. We would move exactly the same menu or list of
commodities as our competitors, the only difference is that when a company uses us, they
are going to get delivery within minutes or hours as opposed to overnight. - Rick
McClelland
Technology
Internet Security
Validian Corporation (OTC: VLDI)
We're a really good fit for industries which require information shared between
applications to be secure, and have users, partners, customers, vendors, or applications
distributed across different networks, linked via the Internet. One example would be
manufacturing companies who run supply chain management systems; they have an
ever-changing group of suppliers they must connect with, each of whom must connect with
others as well. Another example would be in financial services, where protected
transactions must take place between banks, customers, and other institutions.
Healthcare organizations fall under federal privacy regulations requiring all patient data
to be secure; but hospitals must communicate with insurance providers, pharmacies and
other entities; the information must be protected from end to end. Another segment
includes companies deploying Web services initiatives; typically linking back-end
applications and systems across the Net using Web standards; many of these communications
require transport, routing, and security, all of which we can deliver." - Dr. Andre
Maisonneuve
*****ValidianCorporationWR
April 17, 2003
Financial, Environmental Technology, Telecommunications, Aerospace/Defense, Technology,
Healthcare, Security, Energy, Advertising & Business Services
Financial
Bank Holding Company
Harrington West Financial Group, Inc. (HWFG - NASD)
We have positioned the Company in three very strong markets, and we take a diligent
approach to growing the Banks operations and the underwriting of loans to manage our
expense structure and credit risk well; it is job one for us. Our financial
performance, too, has been favorable. We have demonstrated growth of 30% plus during the
last two years in earnings per share and net income. Our return on equity has grown from
the 10% level over the last four years to above fifteen percent in 2002. We have shown a
consistent track record in deploying capital and attaining attractive returns for
shareholders - Craig J. Cerny
*****Harrington West FinancialWR
Environmental Technology
Pollution Control
Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc. (ESWW -
OTC)
Globally, environmental-consciousness may be our biggest sales force. When
you have federal mandates and global legislation requiring our customers to put
controlling devices for the toxicity reduction on their products were in the
right place at the right time. Whether youre talking about buses, trucks, cars,
utility generators or other types of gas, diesel and alternative fuel engines, these
requirements are laying the groundwork for ESWW success today and growth tomorrow.
It is a tremendous help to us not to have to explain why someone would use our product.
Instead, we just explain what our products do and what performance results they should
expect to achieve when they install it. The application has already been created for
us - its then up to us to demonstrate that our products address their needs and make
the sale. - John A. Donohoe Jr.
*****Environmental Solutions WorldwideWR
Telecommunications
Systems & Services
Prime Companies, Inc. (OTC: PRMC)
We are a total telecommunications company with our focus mostly on the wireless side
of the business. We are providing high-speed Internet access, point-to-point data
and video conferencing. In some communities we are even focusing on the possibility of
providing wireless cable television. The one service that we are testing in-house today is
Voice-Over-IP. When it becomes ready for commercial deployment over our wireless networks,
we see Voice-Over-IP as the service allowing us full claim to the title of being a total
telecommunications wireless provider. - Norbert J. Lima
Aerospace/Defense
Mission Critical Solutions
Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc. (OTC: UGHO)
Investors should look at the growth opportunity of Universal Guardian and the sector
itself. This new sector is not a blip on the radar screen. The
unfortunate likelihood that the U.S. will sustain another terrorist attack at home or
abroad will require more comprehensive and effective security solutions. Universal
Guardian is uniquely positioned to be able to provide the products, technology and
solutions that can protect critical military, government and commercial assets and
infrastructures around the world. The President has a thirty-year plan to combat
terrorism. I believe this to be a clear indication of the importance of Universal
Guardian in the sector. The sector will continue to be here for many years to
come. - Michael J. Skellern
Technology
Software
Firstwave Technologies, Inc. (NASD: FSTW)
I think that where we differentiate ourselves from everybody else is the quality of
the underlying technology. It is not just the features; it has to fit. You have to have a
highly customizable solution, that is tailored to the unique needs of each company and it
has to be easy to use and intuitive. I think where we really shine is that we understand
the communication features and functions that need to be in a product perhaps better than
anyone else. We understand that the architecture that you deploy these features on is
important. - Richard T. Brock
Technology
Service Solutions
Symbiat, Inc. (SYBA - OTC)
We have something that we do differently than everyone else. We have an information
level agreement as well as the service level. Often when companies outsource services,
they lose access to vital information they can get from providing the services themselves.
Not only do they not lose information with us, they actually gain quality. We provide them
with more information in an enhanced format than if their service was handled
in-house. - John (Jack) W. Smith
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
Interpore Cross International (NASD: BONZ)
From an investor prospective standpoint, most CEOs think there companies are
undervalued. We think that to be the case now, particularly with the new product stream
that we have coming out in the highest growth market in orthopedics. - David Mercer
Security
Biometrics
Bioscrypt Inc. (BYT - TSX)
We estimate that five million people everyday are touching our technology. The
technology works. We have real revenue and our margins are increasing. We are very well
positioned in what we believe will be the explosion of the biometric field with all the
needs of increased security such as airports, border control and identity theft. Market
research shows that there is tremendous growth ahead. It is a timing issue and we are the
market leader in commercial fingerprint technology. - Pierre Donaldson
Technology
VDR/Marine
Rutter Technologies Inc. (RUT - TSX Venture)
What we are looking to do with Rutter is drive it to a 500 million dollar global
marine technology company, offering reliable and affordable 21st century
technology that improves maritime operation safety and travel. We are going to achieve
this through research and development providing new products to the marketplace. As a
result of the voyage data recorder, people are going to find that they need 21st
century technology in order to improve maritime operations safety and travel. Some of the
technology that is out there right now on the ships may be outdated. Ships are getting
faster and oceans are getting more crowded. You need better information to be able to run
the ships and improve safety; insurance companies are going to demand this type of
improved technology. We are in the forefront, we know what is going on and we have access
to all these things. - Donald I. Clarke
Technology
Software & Programming
Live Person, Inc. (OTC: LPSN)
Potential investors should look at a strong core, expanding market, growth with the
market, and good customers. I am excited about the company. The dream one day is to see
that every site has this technology and that LivePerson provides it to them. -
Robert LoCascio
Energy
Oil and Gas Producers
Olympic Resources Ltd (OTC:OLYR)
We saw a number of things in California that really caught our attention. We
saw a growing demand and diminishing supply, along with an economy that is the sixth
largest in the world. What most people probably dont know is that 85% of the
natural gas used by Californians is imported. The energy requirements for the state
are both strategic and essential and it met our corporate strategy of having a large
expanding market, excellent infrastructure and a lot of oil and gas production. -
Daryl Pollock
Financial
Regional Banks
Macatawa Bank Corporation (MCBC - NASD)
Down the road, we are going to need more than just interest income to make an
adequate return as a community bank. The most logical place to develop is in the
investment area where we already have a trust department. We are approaching a billion
dollars in assets in the trust department and are concentrating on further developing
those relationships. We are trying to build trust, wealth management, investment advisory
services, as well as broker/dealer services so we can increase non-interest income to a
fairly significant level. Our goal is to have that 30% or greater of the total
income. - Ben Smith
Advertising
Services
aQuantive, Inc. (AQNT NASD)
What we want shareholder and potential investors to know is that we are completely
focused on the online advertising space, we are both a service and technology business,
weve been very successful in a world where lots of companies have disappeared or are
failing, and we have had six straight quarters with improved bottom line
performance.- Brian McAndrews
Business Services
Services
EarthNetMedia, Inc. (ENTM OTC)
We have a special advantage in that we have our television shows, which provide us
with media time. We stay very closely connected with the major television stations in
China. We use e-commerce and our website, in conjunction with our television programs, to
cross promote and market for American companies who want to have a presence in China,
getting their brand known and their products sold there." - Alie Chang
April 3, 2003
Mining, Technology, Financial, Healthcare & Services
Mining
Gold
Lakota Resources Inc. (TSX Venture: YLA)
If you have an asset in Tanzania and you develop it, people are interested in taking
over the property. Not only is Lakota an equity play to build assets and develop
properties, but it is also a major take-over play. Being structured the way we are, with
only around thirteen million fully diluted shares, makes us extremely interesting because
we are not over capitalized. - George H. Breuler, Jr.
*****LakotaResourcesWR
Technology
Photonics
Coherent, Inc. (NASD: COHR)
Innovation alone will not ensure future success. Innovative designs need to be
coupled with operational excellence and efficiency. - Helene Simonet
Technology
Airline Information Technology
APTA Holdings, Inc. (OTC: APTA)
If you were to take a cross section of our product offering, there are other players in
the reservation market but we dont see them in the flight operations side. There is
competition in the flight operation side but we dont see them in the reservation or
maintenance side. What we feel differentiates us is the ability to provide an entire
integrated solution to the carrier. - Ralph F. Eisenschmid
Financial
Regional Banks
Cascade Financial Corporation (NASD: CASB)
The things that have changed the most are the sales culture that we brought about
here at the bank, which didnt exist prior to my coming. We have also instituted a
very strong service culture within the organization. The financial performance has
improved dramatically during that time and we have instituted a very firm credit culture.
Hence, there have been many changes here in the organization. - Carol K. Nelson
*****CascadeFinancialWR
Healthcare
Biopharmaceutical
Ćterna Laboratories, Inc. (NASD: AELA & TSX: AEL)
Ćterna offers an extensive portfolio in two areas that should grow dramatically
over the years. We have good scientific rationale for our compounds, extremely good
market potential, an experienced management team, and we are very experienced in drug
development. - Gilles Gagnon
Healthcare
Biotechnology
AnorMED Inc. (TSX: AOM)
AnorMED, in my opinion, is quite undervalued at this point. We have a very strong
cash position and the resources to take our programs forward. We have four different
compounds in clinical trials including a stem cell mobilizer in Phase II. We have a
product that hopefully will be approved this year, which is under review in the EU
(European Union) and the United States. In addition, we have the potential for two
significant value-creating partnerships in both oncology and HIV and we are a world-leader
in the development of therapeutics that addresses a new emerging therapeutic target.
- Dr. Michael J. Abrams
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
Lifestream Technologies, Inc. (AMEX: KFL)
We are the first product on the market for monitoring cholesterol at home. Our
products have been on the retail shelf for a little over twelve months and acceptance has
been very positive. - Christopher Maus
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Bio-Logic Systems Corp. (BLSC - NASD)
Our growth will come from Ear Muffin disposable and new products in hearing
diagnostics and nuero/sleep systems. The first new hearing diagnostic product is
M.A.S.T.E.R, (Multiple Auditory STEady State Response Technology), which is a
product used by Audiologists to test hearing thresholds of infants in order to ultimately
fit hearing aids accurately and quickly. The second new diagnostic hearing product
is called Stacked ABR and it will be used by audiologists in ENTs offices to screen
patients for auditory nerve tumors less than one centimeter in size. This latter
technology is exclusively licensed from House Ear Institute in Los Angeles. We expect to
receive FDA 510(k) clearance by the second quarter. Also, our new Sleep and improved
epilepsy monitoring systems will continue to provide growth as well. - Roderick G.
Johnson
Technology
Information Management
Infodata Systems Inc. (OTC: INFD)
Infodata offers a combination of software and services that target particular
vertical markets and leverage current ECM to provide enhanced capabilities for content
review, content assembly and publishing, content transformation, content security and
content analytics. We will be successful because we are building on unique techniques and
toolsets that have been developed by Infodata over the 35-year life of the company.
- Edwin Miller
Services
Advertising
CoolSavings, Inc. (CSAV NASD)
The core of CoolSavings business today is our ability to collect huge amounts
of information from our members -- self reported and behavioral data -- and use that data
to target our members with special promotional offers from major manufacturers and
retailers. Since we launched in 1997, we have grown to over 25 million registered
members and hundreds and hundreds of national advertisers and brands who rely on us day in
and day out to help them reach their target consumers among our rapidly growing
CoolSavings member database. - Matthew Moog
March 20, 2003
Basic Materials & Financial
Basic Materials
Containers & Packaging
Gibraltar Packaging Group, Inc. (OTC: PACK)
I think this is a service driven business and it is no better than the people that
we have. Our biggest concerns are having good people at the senior management level,
hiring and training good people at the lower levels, and creating an atmosphere where
people are very much customer driven and very conscience of the customer service and
quality we are delivering to our customers. That is our real focus. Building the company
is to build that kind of a unified team, and I think weve made good strides in the
last few years getting that team built. Our Chief Operating Officer, Dick Hinrichs,
is a veteran of the industry. He has been in this business his whole life and knows it
inside and out. He has very effectively built a team of people under him that think like
he does, which is customer service and quality. - Walter Rose
Basic Materials
Fabricated Plastic
International Smart Sourcing, Inc. (OTC: ISSG)
We are an ISO certified company and have been in manufacturing for over 40 years so
we know what US customers expect in terms of quality and delivery. You deal directly with
us. You place your order with an American firm and then all of the work with China is
transparent to our customers. That is because we have an office in Shanghai of 15-25
project engineers, project managers, logistic coordinators, and quality control staff.
Most of these people are bilingual and deal with a network of about 75 factories that we
have contractual relationships with. We are able to provide the full service to a US
manufacturer. The risk along with the pain and frustration of trying to deal with an
entirely new entity in a foreign language that is over 5000 miles away is gone. -
David Hale
Financial
Regional Banks
Bank of South Carolina Corporation (BKSC NASD)
I think one of things that differentiates a community bank is the Board of Directors
and its officers and employees. The people who helped organize this bank and the people
who are employed here all have had a long personal involvement with the community, whether
it is the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation, or many other
organizations. The officers who are here are here because they are committed to this
community and its growth and welfare. - Hugh Lane Jr.
Consumer Non-Cyclical
Food Processing
Peets Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET)
Industry dynamics are favorable for us, and Peets is well situated, going into
2003, to take advantage of them. We are significantly growing our retail business,
both existing stores and accelerating new store openings. Our grocery business in
the western United States is growing dramatically, and we are already beginning to see the
fruits of our labor coming through. We will see many new more customer distribution
announcements in the near future. Our food service business continues to be a very
high growth area as well. In total, the environment is very positive; we are very
focused as a company with multiple growth opportunities, and we are very optimistic about
the future. - Patrick ODea
Technology
Performance Monitoring
Carmina Technologies, Inc. (OTC: CARL)
The first aim of any of our products is use portable computer technology to provide
Proof-of-Performance and supporting data. Carmina Technologies has four main
products, the first one being PestAssur for use in large Pest Management projects. The
next product would be Assur-FQP and that is the product aimed at the Food Protection
and Food Quality Survey Market, which usually includes ISO-9000, HACCP (Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Point), and other health related issues that are endemic to the
particular kind of company that is receiving the inspection service. The third one is
Assur-H&S , which is a program developed for municipal, county, or state health
inspectors, the people who monitor anything from diners and hospitals to elder care
facilities. The last one is Assur-PM (Program Maintenance) and that is used to monitor the
process of preventive and protective maintenance in building complexes, including the
equipment within the building and the various systems that make a building function.
This covers air conditioning, elevators, escalators, electrical and plumbing We
have begun cash flow generating relationships that use all the above products -
John Alston, President and CEO
Technology
Software & Programming
Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (NASD: PTEC)
Our customers are the whos who of consumer electronics and
high-technology products. Our cME product is enabling customers like Sony Corporation
(NYSE: SNE) and Panasonic (Matsushita Electronic Corporation of America) not only to
expand beyond the PC and deliver PC-like functions, but also to deliver those functions in
products that are not PCs, like home servers, digital televisions and next-generation
set-top boxes. Our well-established relationships with these companies provide our
investors and us with a path to growing shareholder value and earnings for the
future. - Albert Sisto
Services
Security Systems Services
Diversified Security Solutions (DVS: AMEX)
I attribute our better performance in this very tough time in Wall Street to our
focus and history. We are not a new comer to this business, we have decades long
relationships with both the customers that are going to be the focus of the funding from
Washington and the manufacturers of the products that will be used with these systems. I
believe that we are a competent player in a growing market. - James E. Henry
March 6, 2003
Technology & Healthcare
Technology
Software & Programming
FlexiInternational Software, Inc. (OTC: FLXI)
We are signing up new partners who are resellers of our software. We have had
partners that are selling our software into the hospital and insurance market space. They
are taking our software and bundling it in with the industrys specific vertical
solutions to their respective markets, and then offering it as a total solution to their
customers. That has been successful for us and it is a good way to expand into
markets where the industry-specific expertise is definitely very important. It is a
fast way to market, with long-term good revenue flow for us. Strategically, we do
believe that accounting outsourcing is the next big growth phase, and we believe we are
well positioned to take advantage of that. - Stefan R. Bothe
Technology
Security Management Software
Internet Security Systems, Inc. (ISS) (NASD: ISSX)
First of all, the opportunity for competent security companies is enormous.
The world is not becoming any kinder or gentler - it is a perfectly horizontal market..
Businesses are becoming more dependent on the use of computing systems; and critical
infrastructure, meaning our banking, transportation, oil and gas distribution, and
emergency services, are dependent upon a safe and uninterrupted Internet. Our goal is to
stay agile and ahead of our competition while being a trusted partner to our
customers. Potential is almost unlimited and we think we are well on our way.
- Thomas Noonan
Technology
Communications Equipment
WPCS International Incorporated (OTC: WPCS)
WPCS is a provider of complete wireless solutions. We serve the domestic and
international market, with offices in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Sacramento. The
company focuses on the wireless solutions market as a single-source wireless provider
offering best of breed solutions and comprehensive services. Our goal is to be
recognized as the national leader in providing wireless solutions, for both indoor and
outdoor connectivity. - Andrew Hidalgo
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
SpectRx, Inc. (NASD: SPRX)
We call our insulin delivery products line SimpleChoice because it gives
people a choice as opposed to just having the single line that is in the market today. We
can allow our products to compete on some innovative features and on availability through
different distribution channels. - Mark A. Samuels
Financial
Community Bank
First Community Corporation (NASD: FCCO)
Each community is little unique and a little different and we want to hire the very
best banker for that community and the banker will be different for Chapin and different
for Forest Acres. Instead of coming up with one plan and saying that this plan will work
for everybody, our strategy and focus is on doing what is best for that individual
community, that individual location. Our vision is to be the best, the premier
community bank in the markets that we serve. We recognize that there are going to be
uniqueness to that market that we will need to understand and to meet. - Michael
Crapps
Services
Learning
PLATO Learning, Inc. (OTC: TUTR)
It is only in the last two or three years that we and a couple of other companies
have formulated a strategy to build a K-12 enterprise offering. That is driven by the
legislation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and No Child Left Behind (NCLB),
and the need for more technology being used by school districts to meet the requirements
of NCLB. Certainly there are competitive players, but we believe our heritage, our breadth
and newness of product gives us an edge. - John Murray
Environmental Services
Hazardous Waste Destruction
ELI Eco Logic Inc. (TSX: ELI)
Cost is always a factor; Adam Smith is alive and well in the environmental
technology marketplace. On a life cycle basis, and with a level playing field, which
requires clear regulatory standards and enforcement, our technology competes effectively
with alternatives. There is a growing realization on the part of regulatory
authorities that incineration, when employed for waste destruction in our markets, has
unacceptably negative consequences.
We are building a business as an
alternative to the system that the scientific, regulatory, and NGO communities have come
to question in terms of environmental stewardship and public health consequences. -
Fred T. Arnold, Ph.D.
Financial
Regional Banks
MBT Financial Corporation (NASD: MBTF)
People choose us because of the convenience and the fact that we have the
Brick and Mortar out there and have had it for a number of years. Our ATM
positioning is sound. Most of our employees are still people that have roots in
Monroe and because they have roots here, people want to deal with people they know.
- Ronald D. LaBeau
Technology
Fiber Optic Technology
Tactex Controls Inc. (TSX Venture: TTX)
Multi-touch is one important aspect of our technology; another is that we can
measure pressure accurately and probably better than competing technology. A third
difference would be that our devices, because they are optical, are able to respond very
quickly. Finally, our technology enables us to make quite large surfaces the size of a
desktop or hospital bed, which are flexible and can be different shapes and sizes, and we
can do that at a price which is very competitive with the competing technology. -
Rob Inkster
Biotechnology & Drugs
Healthcare
Bioanalytical Systems Inc. (NASD: BASSI)
The more drug substances we work with for diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular
disease, the more we know the rules and can operate more efficiently when the new one
comes in. Further, our people are more trained and well focused and can deliver a data in
a quality manner that is consistent with what the FDA expects. - Peter Kissinger
February 20, 2003
Technology, Financial, Consumer Cyclical, Specialty Chemicals &
Telecommunications
Technology
Security Solutions Providers
ECSI International, Inc. (OTC: EKCS)
People in the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission come to us because we have been working in this area for twenty years and enjoy
a very good reputation. Our customers know they come first; if there is a problem, we
address it and worry about fault later. When a customer requires support, our people are
on the ground within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. - Arthur Barchenko
Technology
Biotech/Scientific Instruments
Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASD: HBIO)
We have deliberately built our portfolio of products, whether it is through internal
development or whether it is through acquisition, to focus on the bottleneck and drug
discovery because we believe that is how we get above average growth in revenues and above
average margins. I think our track record supports the validity of that strategy. Over the
last five years, we have seen revenues grow at a compound annual growth rate of 38%, and
we have seen pro forma earnings per-share, over the last five years, grow at a rate of
23%. I think that strategy is validated by the strong performance of the company. -
David Green
Financial Services
Community Bank
Sierra Bancorp (NASD: BSRR)
We were here for the long run. When considering investing, most investors look
just at the last year or two. We encourage your to look at Bank of the Sierras
25-year history. We started this bank 25 years ago with a single office, $1.5
million dollars in capital and 11 employees. I was the original president.
Over time, weve built this bank to its present size through generating capital
internally. We did have a preferred offering to augment capital, but there has been
a very consistent earnings pattern. If you look at the last 19 years weve
increased net income in the last 18 of the 19 years. We have very consistent
earnings and very strong process for going forward. - James C. Holly
FINANCIAL
COMMUNITY BANK
Southwest Community Bank (OTC: SWCT)
Our vision is being realized early in our corporate life. For the last three
years running, we have been designated the number one SBA lender in San Diego County,
which along with providing customized deposit services for major account relationships
continues to be a major part of our overall business strategy. Our early success in
SBA lending can be attributed to the seasoned staff we have been fortunate to assemble.
Our ability to offer specialized account services for major account relationships
is due to the banks decision to capitalize on a window of opportunity during our
first year of operation and form a separate data servicing company, Financial Data
Solutions Inc., (FDSI) to provide state-of-the-art data services to other
California based financial institutions. - Frank J. Mercardante
Financial
Leasing Recreational Vehicles
CanaDream Corporation (TSX-Venture: CDN)
The systems, which we developed, are the reservation systems and the inventory
control systems; these allow us to maximize the utilization of the fleet and the pricing
that we can get on the fleet within the utilization period. That is what we developed over
the last seven years. Last year, we reduced the fleet by 10% but increased our revenue by
13%. We have developed a system so that we can control the inventory on the ground and
know that we can get every night of fleet utilization that we can. We have also developed
another strategy that allows us to get very close to 100% utilization and still keep happy
clients. - Brian W. Gronberg
Consumer Cyclical
Recreational Products
GolfGear International, Inc. (OTC: GEAR)
Our Chairman is Peter Pockington, who owned the Edmonton Oilers when they won all
the Stanley Cups up in Canada. He is an investor and a very shrewd businessman; he
was instrumental in raising money for the company last year. Peter provides the visionary
perspective for the company and we are delighted to work with someone of Peters
caliber as well as other members of our Board of Directors. Dean Reinmuth, who is one of
the worlds best golf instructors and is featured on the Golf Channel all the time,
provides great advice and counsel, along with Don Anderson our CEO and Founder. This
gives GolfGear a terrific brain trust with which to deal with the golf market. We are very
excited about where we are headed. - Michael A. Piraino
Technology
Aerospace
Moller International Inc. (Pink Sheets: MLER)
We are flying vehicles, which are very practical; the kind of vehicle that someone
is going to use to get around as he does with his automobile. The issue is the needed
infrastructure that is like having a car without the highway system. Even though
highways are much easier to build in the air than they are on the ground, it still
required a commitment to do that. Fortunately, the U.S. government has made that
commitment and recently started putting into place those components to make it possible to
have a highway in the sky. - Paul Moller
Financial
Thrift
First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. (NASD: FPTB)
Leadership is being personally willing to make the difference by implementing
something that is very hard to do in any business customer service area. We have to
be totally dedicated in believing employees can provide a service to the customer, so that
the customer becomes a fan of the bank. If I am not there leading that charge, then I
dont think it is going to work. - Hans R. Ganz
Specialty Chemicals
Photo Imaging
Ikonics Corporation (NASD: IKNX)
We have a very strong financial statement. We are heavily committed to R&D. We
have a very strong intellectual property position and we have alliances with companies
around the world. We are in a position of not only growing our core business, which in the
last two quarters has been growing at 18%, but to introduce our technologies to new
markets where we bring novel solutions. I think we are a very strong and
solid company. We are growing at a nice rate. Further, I think we have significant
opportunities in important new markets with our core technologies. - William Ulland
Telecommunications
Radio Frequency Identification
SAMSys Technologies Inc. (TSX Venture: SMY)
I think it is fair to say that we have emerged today as being a leader within this
industry, a company that is known for innovative and creative thinking and ideas. We have
certainly changed a lot of mainstream thinking in terms of how the technology should be
applied, marketed and deployed. In so doing, we have given rise to the philosophy of what
we have coined multi-protocol-multi-frequency, or the ability to read a
variety of tag products simultaneously, regardless of the frequency at which they operate,
or the interface protocol or language by which the tag and the reader communicate. -
Clifford A. Horwitz
Technology
Computer Networks
Daou Systems, Inc. (DAOU: OTC)
At Daou, we want to be able to drive and add value at the intersection of a
hospitals legacy applications. We want to take these legacy applications and
integrate them with new and emerging technologies. We think we have the ability from all
that we have done with our partners, our experience base, our know how, that we can
integrate these new emerging technologies with a clients current systems and give
them about 75% of the function and value for about a third of the price and about a third
of the cost. That is our true value proposition back into the marketplace. - Daniel
Malcolm
February 5, 2003
Healthcare, Financial & Technology
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
EPMedSystems, Inc. (NASD: EPMD)
We have been working to expand our diagnostic technology platform to include
interventional technology. In November of 2002, we received PMA approval for our
ALERT® internal cardioversion system, a technology that holds significant promise for
millions of heart patients worldwide. We have also filed for regulatory
approval for the ViewMate intracardiac ultrasound catheter system, which
significantly aids physicians in the performance of diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac
procedures. These and other new technologies that EPMedSystems will bring to the
cardiology market in 2003 will drive significant revenue growth for the Company. -
Reinhard Schmidt
Healthcare
Medical Equipment
EPMedSystems, Inc. (NASD: EPMD) - Reference Interview
Dr. Sanjeev Saksena, Cardio Electrophysiologist
I think EPMedSystems has taken some important organizational steps. Many of these
companies start with dedicated technical and clinical leaders who drive the process and at
some point get transitioned into a business development expansion, where they get
management that is well trained in business practices, and yet try to retain there
technical expertise. I think EPMedSystems has just made that transition with the hiring of
CEO, Reinhard Schmidt. - Dr. Sanjeev Saksena
Financial
Regional Banks
Peoples Financial Corporation (NASD: PFBX)
Our bank is one of the more heavily capitalized banks in the southeast United States
or even the United States. One of our expressions is you never can have enough
capital. Our current primary capital to average assets is 15.3% as compared to last
year, which was 14.47%. We are the second largest financial institution here on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast; our market share is about 18-19% and we are estimated to be the
twelfth largest bank in the state of Mississippi. - Chevis C. Swetman
Technology
Digital Mapping Data
Intermap Technologies Corporation (TSX Venture: IMP.a)
We have an experienced team and are well-known in the industry. We couple that with
great technology, which is ground-breaking in terms of the rapidity and accuracy with
which it can produce maps. We have an innovative business model, which is a harbinger of
the future in the way this business is going to change from being essentially an industry
that has only sold to professional users, to becoming an industry that sells to a much
broader consumer market. - Brian Bullock
Technology
Telecommunications Equipment
Network Equipment Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:
NWK)
We have chosen the right customers, the ones who were essentially left standing
after the storm. We have picked the right position from a technology point of view with
our SCREAM Service Creation Manager platform, the position they need to move forward into
the distant future. It is not luck; it is strategic foresight. - Hubert Whyte
Technology
Computer Services
FindWhat.com (NASD: FWHT)
Our performance-based service introduces Internet users that want to buy a product
or service directly to the people who are selling that product or service. Given our
ability to deliver highly targeted traffic at a lower cost than most other advertising
options, our advertisers achieve industry-leading returns on their investment. -
Craig Pisaris-Henderson
Financial
Regional Banks
Business Bank of Nevada (OTC: BBNV)
Our branch managers dont run the branch operations; we have operations
managers that run the day-to-day operations and the branch managers are relationship
builders. We are very sales minded; virtually every employee in our bank has some
reward/incentive bonus program that is clearly defined and some component of that is tied
to profitability or growth with all of the appropriate checks and balances. - John
Guedry
Financial
Regional Banks
Legacy Bank (OTC-BB: LBOH.OB)
What we have demonstrated is that we have a management team alert to opportunities,
who will take advantage of them and capitalize on those opportunities if it is beneficial
for the organization. Because of the markets areas we operate in we are a very attractive
organization with the potential for another organization to have an affiliation with us.
Hence, we believe that there are many ways that investors have the potential to be
rewarded in the future. - George H. Groves
Financial
Regional Banks
Legacy Bank (OTC:BB: LBOH) Reference
Interview
Scott Schwartz, Owner
Swartz Supply Company
The first thing Legacy has provided people here in central Pennsylvania is
personalized service. In todays banking world, with many large banks coming into the
area, buying out other banks, you lose that personal relationship. Further, if you do
develop that personal relationship, it seems to change in a matter of time. With Legacy,
you see stability, people staying with Legacy and not jumping ship. The
quality of the service is superior and you can get an answer quickly; you can talk to the
people you need to talk to almost immediately, if not immediately, to get an answer.
- Scott Schwartz
January 23, 2003
Technology, Energy & Healthcare
Technology
Communications Equipment
New Visual Corporation (OTCBB: NVEI)
After twenty years in the wireline access business, I have come to understand that
the next opportunity to move this business forward is at the silicon level. New Visual has
a Telecom/Semiconductor product that has the potential to help Telcos radically accelerate
their revenues and reduce their costs. That was an opportunity I couldnt
miss. - Brad Ketch
Technology
Communication Equipment
Socket Communications, Inc. (NASD: SCKT)
I think that the most important thing our investors need to believe is that
hand-held computers will continue to grow. We are in a strong position; we are a market
leader and we have a very strong family of products. We believe strongly that if the
hand-held market continues to grow, that we will continue to grow with it. This year we
probably grew 40% but the market for Pocket PCs probably only grew 10%-15%. Not only are
we in a market that is growing but we are also gaining market shares within that
market. - Kevin J. Mills
Energy
Drilling & Exploration
Dover Petroleum Corp. (Pink Sheets: DVPC)
We have a very profitable 'machine' that processes oil and sells it to British
Petroleum. Since we have been quite successful and profitable, we thought it would
be a good idea to do some exploration and find some additional reserves to keep the
'machine' running. We thought we could find additional reserves by drilling the East
Wadi Araba targets that we have identified from about three years work on the seismic and
about 10 million dollars work of British Gas, which we were fortunate to obtain. -
Robert Petras Salna
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Heska Corporation (NASD: HSKA)
I think that our growth has been primarily related to our innovation in product
development. We are constantly bringing out new products. For example, next
year we plan to have four additional companion animal health products. The
introduction of new products and their support of our marketing and sales effort tends to
result in rapid revenue growth. - Robert Grieve, Chairman and CEO
January 9, 2003
Technology, Consumer Cyclical & Healthcare
Technology
Software & Programming
Moldflow Corporation (NASD: MFLO)
Our competitive position is strong. For example, we believe that Moldflow products
comprise nearly 85% of the solutions purchased for injection molding simulation. We are
positioned as a well-capitalized, significant player in this industry. When things get
difficult, purchasing from a solid company such as Moldflow takes some of the risks out of
the technology decision. - A. Roland Thomas
Consumer Cyclical
Apparel/Accessories
The Leather Factory Inc. (AMEX: TLF)
Of the fourteen Tandy Leather stores that we have opened, each store has started
generating a profit within sixty days of its opening, which is much better than we
expected. We figured it would take six months to a year for a new store to become
profitable. We actually had one store that was opened this fall that was profitable
the first month it was opened. - Shannon L. Greene
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Candela Corporation (NASD: CLZR)
With our products, we spend a great deal of time in clinical studies. For example,
we were just cleared for acne with our Smoothbeam, and that clinical has been going
on for five years. - Gerard E. Puorro
December 27, 2002
Financial, Healthcare & Technology
Financial
Regional Banks
First State Bancorporation (NASD: FSNM)
The real key for us is providing responsive customer service quicker that most of
our competition. We especially see that on the loan side with commercial loan approvals
and our process being much more responsive to our customers needs and generally much
quicker than the competition, so that is the one major distinguishing factor. We also try
to be priced competitively in terms of fees and service charges so that we are not nickel
and diming our customers like some of the larger banks, which seemed to have made a
science out of that. - H. Patrick Dee
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Sontra Medical Corporation (NASD: SONT)
We have a very clear-cut time-line towards the development of the SonoPrep® device
for the blood glucose monitor and a Skin Prep application for delivering a topical
anesthetic drug that will make the skin numb immediately. We believe the Skin Prep
application will significantly improve EKG readings and other electrophysiological
measurements. - Thomas W. Davison, Ph.D.
Technology
Electronic Instruments & Controls
TASER International, Inc. (NASD: TASR)
People like to see what cops use, and they figure that if a cop is using it, it must
be tested and it must work. Therefore, we refocused the company in late 1999, with a new
product for police, called the M-26, which is the product that has taken off to where we
now have one thousand, eight hundred (1,800) police departments using our product
today. - Phillips W. Smith, Ph.D.
Technology
Software & Programming
RadView Software Ltd. (NASD: RDVW)
We have just launched our new WebFT product and are planning a new release,
of, our WebLOAD products, which is bringing lots of new advances to the
market. I would also say that we have great relationships with our customers. They
love us. We have hundreds of them active on support maintenance and buying more products
from us. I see that the key advancement for us and I am sure we will be able to
deliver more solutions and more services that they are asking for and I can see that as
our spring board and the way we are going to build our company. - Ilan Kinreich
December 11, 2002
Healthcare, Chemicals & Consumer
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Analyst Interview on:
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VAR)
Bruce N. Jacobs, CFA
Deutsche Bank Securities
Varian Medical Systems is a very exciting story. They are the dominant player in the
radiation oncology market and have long been the leading player in that market. -
Bruce N. Jacobs, CFA, Deutsche Bank Securities
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VAR)
In a nutshell, this allows you to precisely put the beam on the tumor and spare the
healthy tissueand that is the name of the game when treating cancer. You want
to put as much radiation as possible right where it needs to go to kill the cancer, but
not hit any healthy structures. IMRT is what is driving our market place
today. - Elisha W. Finney
Healthcare
Network Marketing
Natural Health Trends Corporation (OTC BB: NHTC)
Yes, we have seen sales and revenues increase from $8 million in the year 2000 to
$25 million last year, and we are looking at probably $40 million this year. We have seen
nice increases in sales over the last three years. We continue to expand our operational
base as far as countries, and it is our goal to be in fifty countries by the end of
2003. - Mark Woodburn
Chemicals
Research & Development
Polymer Research Corporation of America (NASD: PROA)
Polymer Research Corporation of American has been able to serve many clients; most
of the Fortune 500, by preparing for them, new products with new properties that are less
expensive and are putting them ahead of the competition. - Dr. Carl Horowitz
Consumer
Jewelry
Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (NASD: CTHR)
Charles & Colvard has a great future; we have positive cash flow and have
generated cash now for six quarters in a row. I think it sends the right message that we
are here and we are not going away and the message to the retail trade is if want to
participate in this growth, we are out performing the jewelry industry by a wider margin.
We think eventually the retail merchants from the chain stores and other larger retailers
will have to ask themselves or have their shareholders or the board of directors ask them,
why they are not participating in this growth, and why they are not taking a closer look
at how they can serve their customers with Moissanite. - Robert S. Thomas
November 14, 2002
Services & Financing
Services
Retail
HearUSA, Inc. (AMEX: EAR)
We currently have three priorities in our goal to shift from being market driven to
being profit driven. - Dr. Paul A. Brown
Financing
Mortgage Banking
Ofek Capital Corp. (OTC Pink Sheets: OFCC)
We have the management, the business facility and structure, and the business
plan. Used car leasing is an extremely financially healthy market, and Ofek is
profitable as a venture with the ability to further expand into a very large
scenario. - Shalom Romm
October 30, 2002
Technology, Capital Goods & Healthcare
Technology
Communications Equipment
American Technology Corp. (NASD: ATCO)
We have spent close to 35 million dollars on this technology and we are still making
a major effort. Our feeling is that in spite of all the applications that we have found
and all of the enhancements that we have made, we have just scratched the surface of what
our speakers will be useful for. - Elwood G. Norris
Capital Goods
Construction Supplies & Fixtures
Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc. (OTC: KESN)
Keystone is a company that is over 100 years old. We are engaged in the
manufacturing of steel and wire products that are used primarily in the agricultural,
construction and home improvement retail industries. Our products include: fencing, barbed
wire, nails, woven and welded wire mesh and woven and welded hardware cloth. We actually
manufacture the steel from which we make our steel and wire products. - Bert Downing
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Genetronics Biomedical Corporation - (AMEX: GEB)
Compared to surgery, which would generally require resecting the entire tumor, and a
certain amount of the surrounding tissue, because you have to take certain margins, with
the electroporation technology, you do not have to do that. With electroporation you are
selectively trying to kill the cancer cells. - Avtar Dhillon
Hear USA, Inc. (AMEX: EAR)
October 16, 2002
Technology & Healthcare
Technology
Scientific & Technical Instruments
Accelr8 Technology Corporation (OTC: ACLY)
The vertical marketplace that our technology addresses includes applications in
medical diagnostics, drug discovery, food and water pathogen testing, and bio-warfare
defense. - Thomas V. Geimer
Technology
Computer Services
Vicinity Corporation (NASD: VCNT)
"We are a very real and tangible bridge between the online and offline world where
people go for information online and offline to buy the products." - Charles W.
Berger
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (NASD: BJCT)
Finally, injections dont have to hurt
We think our products and the technology offers benefits to a number of different
people. - John Gandolfo
October 2, 2002
Services & Technology
Services
Education
Whitney Information Network (OTC: RUSS)
Real life business scenarios
In business school you learn a lot of theory and our training programs we are
actually working with what works I the real world and practical application -
Russell A. Whitney
Technology
Scientific & Technical Instruments
Image Sensing Systems Incorporated (NASD: ISNS) (ISNS*****)
Our Machine Vision technology has the potential to be taken far beyond
just using it for monitoring and managing traffic congestion. In addition to flame
detection, we are looking at Telematics and Homeland Security. - James Murdakes
Technology
Scientific & Technical Instruments
MFIC Corporation (OTC: MFIC) - MFIC*****MFIC_Corporation.htm
Yes, our previous acquisitions are no longer a cash drain, and we are looking
forward to the next couple of years of profitability and showing what we can do with our
bottom line. - Irwin Gruverman
Technology
Electronics Instruments & Controls
RF Monolithics, Inc. (NASD: RFMI)
Specifically with the low power of family of products, low power components and also
the virtual wireless family, weve got very good battery life with these products and
then fairly high database, in some of our products up to 1megabit per second of data that
is capable of being transferred. - David M. Kirk
September 18, 2002
Technology, Consumer Cyclical, Healthcare & Security
Technology
Computer Hardware
En Pointe Technologies, Inc. (NASD: ENPT)
One major advantage for our customers is that our business-business
AccessPointe application can blend multiple manufacturers products into
one single platform. In addition to our e-procurement solutions, we do integration,
rollout and many of the services required for the customer to effectively manage and
achieve an ROI on the complex assets that run their business. - Kevin B.
Schatzle
Consumer Cyclical
Apparel and Accessories
Russell Corporation (NYSE:RML)
Even though we undertook a broad-based restructuring effort, we were able to
successfully complete it in a more rapid fashion than anybody in our industry of our size
had ever done. - John (Jack) Ward
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems, Inc. (OTC: NIMU)
I think my stock is unbelievably undervalued and watch us. - Allan F. Brack
Security
Homeland Security
Steven Gish, CFA
Research Analyst
Roth Capital Partners, LLC
Analyst Interview on: Hypercom Corporation (NYSE: HYC)
Hypercom falls into our research in terms of preventing fraud and verifying
identity. Right now, the company is selling their products into the retail market,
however, longer term we think the functionality of Hypercom's ICE (Interactive Consumer
Environment) has potential in aviation and other transportation settings. " - Steven
Gish, CFA, Research Analyst with Roth Capital Partners, LLC
September 4, 2002
Services & Healthcare
Services
Security Systems
Sense Holdings, Inc. (OTC: SEHO)
We are currently working with some very large accounts, developing products for the
Airline and Security industry. In addition, we have just started working on homeland
security applications. Our focus is on securing businesses with biometrics. Since 911,
this has become a very exciting time for product development and we are offering different
solutions to different industries. - Dore Scott Perler
Services
Retail
Not Public
Dylans Candy Bar
We installed the finger print biometric system for time and attendance. We have
looked at several solutions to time and attendance, but none have been as effective as the
Sense Holdings (OTC: SEHO) system. Jeff Rubin, Co-Owner & Co-Founder of
Dylans Candy Bar in New York
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
BSD Medical Corporation (OTC: BSDM)
I would say that cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, and we
have one of the few emerging therapies that has demonstrated strong efficacy in the
treatment of that terrible disease. - Hyrum A. Mead
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Horizon Medical Products, Inc. (AMEX: HMP)
With our Vortex port technology, we feel like we definitely have the product
leader. In 2001, we increased that segment of our business by over 70%; clearly there are
some people in the market place that looked at it and thought, Gee, we like what we
see. We believe that this technology and its focus on oncology was one of the
reasons why Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) made an investment in the company. - William
E. (Bill) Peterson, Jr.
August 22, 2002
Healthcare, Services & Technology
Healthcare
Biotechnology
GeneMax Corp. (OTC: GMXX)
Well, we think we have the key to the door in terms of cancer therapy immune
recognition. - Ronald L. Handford
Services
Retail
Not Public
Liquidity Services, Inc.
First, we create greater efficiency and speed, secondly we create much more
competition for the client assets and higher recovery rates as a result, and thirdly, it
is an effortless process for our clients because we take on all the steps of preparing the
assets for sale, collecting the information for our clients, and marketing that to our
buyer base. - Bill Angrick
Technology
Communication & Equipment
TESSCO Technologies, Inc. (NASD: TESS)
We have a very strong capability, we have a very strong value proposition but we
ensure that we deliver that each and every time we interface with a customer. -
Robert B. Barnhill, Jr.
Technology
Software & Programming
Optika Inc. (NASD: OPTK)
Financially we are in good shape. We have zero debt and will be cash flow positive
for the year. Optika has developed solid products that deliver a substantial ROI
(Return On Investment), so companies can justify investing their IT dollars in our
products even in the current market environment. - Mark K. Ruport
August 7, 2002
Capital Goods, Basic Materials, Technology, & Healthcare
Capital Goods
Construction Services
Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) - Cover
Story
Another factor making the future look bright is the growth in affluent
households. - Joel H. Rassman
Technology
Scientific & Technical Instruments
Cyber Optics Corp. (NASD: CYBE)
Introduction of new products and expansion of its customer base has CyberOptics well
positioned for the recovery of the electronic assembly and semiconductor capital equipment
markets.
We think that we are well-positioned for the next upturn in the electronic assembly
and semiconductor capital equipment markets. Weve spent the last few years
introducing a wide range of new products and significantly expanding our customer base. We
have three new end-user systems on the market and seven new sensor products. Due to these
introductions and market positioning, we think CyberOptics has a clear shot at attaining
revenues of at least $100 million as our markets recover. - Steven Quist
Basic Materials
Chemical Manufacturing
RPM, Inc. (NYSE: RPM)
Our mission statement is simpleHire the best people you can find, create
an atmosphere to keep them and let them do their jobs. - Frank C. Sullivan
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Biomet, Inc. (NASD: BMET)
I think generally it is obvious that we are pretty much an economy-proof industry in
the market. - Dane A. Miller, PhD
July 24, 2002
Services, Healthcare & Financial
Financial
Banking
Not Public
Franklin American Mortgage Company - Cover Story (FAMC*****)
The thing that is most exciting is to have started at $20 million a year and to have
grown to $2 billion in lending in only nine years. It is more difficult to construct and
build a platform from $20 million to $2 billion, than it is to go from $2 billion to 10
billion. Although we have been fortunate and have done profitable things as an
organization, I think the future of our company is ahead of us. - Dan Crockett
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Hybridon, Inc. (OTC: HYBN)
Clearly, Hybridon is what you would call a story stock. - Stephen
R. Seiler
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
Nutrition 21, Inc. (NASD: NXXI)
Yes, instead of just selling an ingredient to other manufacturers who ultimately
control the marketing and distribution of consumer products, we are moving to a business
model where we will be marketing and distributing our own finished products. The first to
be developed is Diachrome, a combination of chromium picolinate and biotin. Our goal
is to validate Diachromes efficacy through clinical trials and then market it as an
ethical supplement for administration to people with diabetes. - Gail Montgomery
Services
Business Services
Ventiv Health Inc. (NASD: VTIV)
The major value we provide for our client is high quality sales and marketing with
great flexibility and with very cost effective economics. - John Emery
July 9, 2002
Technology & Services
Technology
Software & Programming
Brightcube, Inc. (OTC BB: BRCU) - Cover
Story (BRCU*****)
Our most exciting news right now is the fact that we have now launched the
Brightcube Solutions onto the market place, where in reality, there is nothing like
it out there. I think that is probably one of the most exiting things that we have ever
done. In addition, our papers continue to win awards; they continue to be some of the
finest papers on the market. As a company that has brought forth these new projects, and
the fact that it has moved forward so quickly, is just a lot of fun and very
rewarding. Al Marco, President and CEO of BrightCube, Inc.
Technology
Software & Programming
Forgent Networks, Inc. (NASD: FORG)
We have been able to improve the earnings per share every quarter for the last eight
quarters. We are now in a positive vector and have crossed the line and have gone to .34
cents per share in this last earnings call and I think that has been one of the primary
drivers in the interest in this company is putting in the stock most recently -
Richard N. Snyder
Technology
Computer networks
Prophet 21, Inc. (NASD: PXXI)
We have the greatest and newest offering available. Weve been in business
since 1967, and have developed three offerings prior to introducing Prophet 21 Commerce
Center; we are very innovative organization. - Charles L. Boyle III
Services
Communications Services
BestNet Communications Corp. (OTC: BESC)
The fundamental value that differentiates BestNet is the convergence of technology
and telecommunications, which allows us to offer a savings of up to 70% to businesses and
consumers worldwide. - Robert Blanchard
June 2002
Healthcare, Technology & Basic Materials
Technology
Software and Programming
ROGUE WAVE SOFTWARE (NASD: RWAV) - Cover
Story
Overall, we will maintain a very disciplined focus to ensure all of our products are
working toward a common goal. - John Floisand
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Analyst Interview on:
Possis Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS)
Douglas Eayrs, VP, Research Analyst - Cover
Story
Dougherty & Company LLC
The drugs are easier to use but there is a trade-off because you have the delay. The
patients actually do better when the Possis Medical product, AngioJet® is used right away
and the clot dissolving drugs are not used. - Douglas Eayrs
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Pace Medical Inc. (OTC: PMDL)
We have our costs in line, acceptable product margins, receivables and inventories
under control, so it looks pretty good right now. - Ralph E. Hanson
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Surecare, Inc. (OTC: SURC)
I think the most exciting news is on the street today is that we executed a 5
million dollar funding agreement through Chapman, Spira & Carson, LLC., in New York,
which will supply the basis for our ability to sustain rapid growth to reach certain
milestones. After that, we had a number of exciting occurrences, including the launching
of our respiratory program, the signing of major contracts with such third party players
as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and also launching an initiative with Pharmacy
Benefits Managers yielding a contract with Prescription Solutions. - Robert B.
Teague, MD
Healthcare
Pharmaceuticals/Nutraceuticals
Naturol Inc. (OTC BB: COOX)
Our corporate objective is to become the world's leading supplier of plant
extraction technology within the next five years and, based on the evidence we have, I
believe we have every chance of achieving this. - Paul McClory
Healthcare
Healthcare Facilities
Daxor Corporation (AMEX: DXR)
We have a real product, and we think we are undervalued relative to our
potential. - Dr. Joseph Feldschuh
Healthcare
Healthcare Facilities
Radiologix, Inc. (AMEX: RGX)
We are the number one or number two provider of outpatient imaging services in these
markets. - Mark L. Wagar
Basic Materials
Chemical Manufacturing
KMG Chemicals, Inc. (NASD: KMGB)
We are selling chemicals that have been around for a decades, in some cases over a
hundred, years. We are selling to stable clients and generating strong positive cash flow
with these products. Further, there is a vast opportunity to expand the business by
acquiring other products like these. - John Sobchak
Technology
Computer Networks
Sonic Solutions (NASD: SNIC)
About 75% plus, of all Hollywood level systems that are sold or installed around the
world are of Sonic Solutions origin. Basically, every mom or dad that sits down to use
MyDVD to make a DVD videodisc of his or her childs birthday, is using the same
technology engine that the high-end guy in Hollywood is using. Thats what
gives Sonic Solutions such a strong position in this space. - Robert J. Doris
Technology
Computer Services
HyperFeed Technologies, Inc. (NASD: HYPR)
Our prospects and customers have tremendous pressure on them to continue to perform
better at lower cost. It is finally bringing a spotlight on these technologies that we
have been designing over the years to meet just those types of needs. - Jim R.
Porter
Technology
Computer Peripherals
Hypercom Corporation (NYSE: HYC)
We have some significant competitive advantages, and when we look at those
competitive advantages, they are in the strength and versatility of our products. -
Christopher S. Alexander
Services
Communications Services
TalkVISUAL Corporation (OTC: TVCP)
A number of people have tried to address this market, but they have not been able to
deliver the combination of quality and service coupled with an inherent trust factor to
this market segment, which is an opportunity for us. - Mike Rollins
May 2002
Healthcare, Technology & Services
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Ostex International, Inc. (NASD: OSTX) -
Cover Story
The interesting point about Ostex is that we have a company with FDA approved
products in multiple formats. We have a company with the wind to its back very much in the
sense that the market is growing very quickly for the prevention and treatment of
Osteoporosis. - T.A. Bologna
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Possis Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS) -
Cover Story
Our product makes a difference in peoples lives. - Eapen Chacko
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Analyst Interview on:
Possis Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS)
Douglas Eayrs, VP, Research Analyst
Dougherty & Company LLC
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Medwave, Inc. (NASD: MDWV)
This is a tremendously large market potential for the company and I think that the
clinical problems that we will solve over the next several years with our technology are
going to be absolutely substantial. I think it is an exciting opportunity for someone who
is looking for a relatively young company that is on the verge of explosive growth.
- Timothy OMalley
Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Dynatronics Corporation (NASD: DYNT)
Our goal is to insure we create shareholder value. - Kelvyn H. Cullimore, Jr.
Technology
Communications Equipment
EMCEE Broadcast Products, Inc. (NASD: ECIN)
My focus, since I got here in October (2001), has been to re-establish the
companys priorities and not just be considered a transmitter company narrowly
focused on providing boxes to broadcasters. We are currently evaluating a number of
avenues, including partnering with integrators and manufacturers of other products with
whom we can offer bundled products and services. - Rick Nardone
Power Technology
Computer Hardware
Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (NASD: MXWL)
The part of our platform that has explosive growth potential is the ultracapacitor
technology; these are very elegant devices that store electrical energy and then deliver
that electricity in rapid bursts or gradually, depending on the application. Nothing
invented previously offers this kind of functionality in a solid-state device. -
Carlton J. Eibl
Technology
Electronics Instruction and Controls
Duraswitch Industries (NASD: DSWT)
As awareness grows, there will be more adapters to the technology which means more
money for us. - Robert J. Brilon
Services
Schools
The Princeton Review, Inc. (NASD: REVU)
We have something to prove, and when we do, it will be clear that were a
unique and lovely company.- John S. Katzman
April 2002
Technology, Healthcare,
Basic Materials & Services
Technology
Software & Programming
Advanced Systems International, Inc. (OTC: ADSN)
ASI is finalizing the execution of a contract with Logica Corporation, which is a
two billion dollar UK company. Our companies are forming a strategic partnership to more
completely address global workforce management solutions. This partnership is designed
with the purpose of becoming the worlds largest workforce optimization
venture. - Gerald A. Pesut
Technology
Computer Services
Packeteer, Inc. (NASD: PKTR)
We think over time that service providers on a global basis will be a very
significant part of our revenue. - Craig W. Elliot
Technology
Computer Services
Analyst Interview on: Packeteer, Inc. (NASD: PKTR)
Lawrence Orans, Senior Analyst
Network Infrastructure TechnologiesGartner, Inc.
Mission critical applications have higher priority over someone who is just watching
television over the web, and that is where a device like Packeteers would come in.
They classify the traffic on a local network and before the traffic goes over a wide area
network, they prioritize the most important applications. - Lawrence Orans, Senior
Analyst
Technology
Computer Services
Coinstar Inc. (NASD: CSTR)
We execute very well on our strategy, and we think we have high potential growth
opportunities in the future. In addition, we are really working on unlocking the power of
the network and the infrastructure that we built over the last ten years. - Diane L.
Renihan
Technology
Computer Services
Net Nanny Software, Intl (OTC: NNSWF)
The one thing I think people have to understand about security is its only as
good as the people involved. - Gordon A. Ross
Healthcare
Healthcare Facilities
LCA Vision, Inc. (NASD: LCAV)
We are confident that LCA-Vision has the best business model to deliver
terrific clinical outcomes at a price people can afford, and this will translate into the
highest level of profitability for our shareholders. - Alan H. Buckey
Basic Materials
Chemical Manufacturers
Epolin, Inc. (OTC:BB: EPLN)
What we find most gratifying for fiscal year 2002 is that we declared and paid a 7
cent dividend on a stock whose price was bouncing from about 30 cents a share to 70 cents
a share. This is, by anyones standard, a very healthy dividend. And it still leaves
us with enough cash to use if we want to expand the company by acquiring others or buying
new equipment. - Dr. Murry S. Cohen
Services
Schools
Touchstone Applied SCI (OTC-BB: TASA)
What makes us particularly unique on the custom testing side is that we have a lot
of senior people that are well seasoned. - Andrew L. Simon
Services
Schools
HealthStream, Inc. (NASD: HSTM)
"Our Business solution of providing content, plus management infrastructure, is
estimated to save hospitals over 50% of the current cost of compliance, verses if they did
it in a non-Internet-base format." - Robert A. Frist, Jr.
Technology
Communications Equipment
ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc. (OTC: ADDM)
Tulsat, a subsidiary of ADDvantage Technologies has 17 years of profitability. With
our strong financial resources, acquisitions and inventory, we are positioned to continue
this trend. - Kenneth A. Chymiak
Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (NASD: ASPM)
Were focused on continuing to penetrate our core market, the operating
room. At the same time, were developing expanded applications of the
technology to open up potentially lucrative new markets. Our latest release, the XP
system, offers expanded performance in the OR, and enables us to extend use of BIS
technology into the ICU. - Nassib G. Chamoun
Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs
BioSpecifics Technologies Corp. (NASD: BSTC)
We are now testing new uses for the ointment, which would have very substantial
markets. - Edwin H. Wegman
Healthcare
Healthcare Facilities
Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH)
Last year we bought five facilities and the year before that we bought seven. We
have already acquired two this year, one in Illinois and one in Arkansas. We have been
successful with acquisitions in both new and existing states. - Wayne T. Smith
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